Advice for Parents and Carers

At Willington Primary School, we understand that attendance is crucial for a child's educational and social development. Regular attendance ensures that students can fully engage with the curriculum, develop essential literacy and numeracy skills, and build strong relationships with peers and teachers. At Willington, we strive to create a welcoming environment where every child feels valued and motivated to attend daily. We emphasize the importance of punctuality as it sets a positive tone for the day and minimizes disruptions to the learning process. Consistent attendance not only enhances academic performance but also instils a sense of responsibility and routine, laying a strong foundation for future success. By fostering a supportive atmosphere and highlighting the significance of being present and on time, we aim to maximize each child's learning potential and overall well-being. As a result, we have policies and procedures in place to monitor, follow up and take action on attendance issues.

Our attendance is reported to the local authority and the DfE.

Why is attendance so important?

Being in school every day that it is open, is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and their wider development.

Here’s what the data shows:

• Pupils with higher attainment at KS2 and KS4 had lower levels of absence over the key stage compared to those with lower attainment.
• Pupils who did not achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2019 had an overall absence rate of 4.7% over the key stage, compared with 3.5% among pupils who achieved the expected standard and 2.7% among those who achieved the higher standard.
• Generally, the higher the percentage of sessions missed across the key stage at KS2 and KS4, the lower the level of attainment at the end of the key stage.
• Among pupils with no missed sessions over KS2, 83.9% achieved the expected standard compared to 40.2% of pupils who were persistently absent.

(Source - DfE Education Hub Blog)

Absences allowed by law: (authorised)

The law states that it is ESSENTIAL for the school to know the reasons behind every absence, because we need to distinguish between absences which are allowed (authorised) and those which are not (unauthorised). However, if your child is sick in the night, please keep them off for 48 hours.

Reluctance to attend:

Occasionally, a child may be reluctant to attend school claiming to have a tummy ache or feeling sick etc. Please let us know if you believe this is the case, so that we can work together to resolve any problems.

School permission in advance:

Any requests should be on an official school absence request form and handed into the school office for consideration prior to any holiday/leave arrangements being made.

You may be issued with a Penalty Notice should leave be taken which is not authorised. If unpaid, this could lead to prosecution under section 444(1) of The Education Act 1996. Please note that penalty notices will apply to both parents for each child who fails to attend school.

Children need to attend school to ensure they have the best opportunity to succeed. There are 13 weeks holiday each year and therefore family holidays during term time will not be granted. Work cannot be given to take on holiday as children need to be taught in school.

Previous attendance is not taken into account when considering exceptional circumstances. It is an expectation that children are in school.

Where siblings attend other local schools, decisions will be reached with the headteachers in those schools. The decision of the headteachers is final.

Religious observance:

Absence for this will be granted, please apply to the headteacher in writing.

Lates:

Persistent lateness could also result in a visit from the Education Welfare Officer as lateness can be construed by the Local Authority as an absence.

Snow:

On the rare occasion that the school closes because of snow, we will inform you via Parent Hub.