Attendance & Punctuality
Attendance and Punctuality Aim
All members of the school community will have good reason to take pride in their school and the part they play in making it an exceptionally positive environment for all to learn. As a result, all children really want to attend school and get there on time. School will work in close partnership with families to optimise attendance for all children and ensure their learning experience coherent. Unless there are exceptional circumstances the minimum expected attendance rate for any child is 96%. This aspect is never more important the following the severe disruption all children have experienced to their school experience and learning in response to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Reporting or Requesting Absence?
Absence Type |
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Reporting Absence | Report absence when a child is ill and the absence is unplanned i..e following flu symptoms; sickness and diarrhoea. On the day by 9:00 a.m. or from the previous days when a decision is taken that a child will be too ill to attend school the following day. |
Requesting Absence | When there is a known planned absence that requires authorisation e.g. medical appointment, doctor's appointment. This form would also be used to request absence when the family will be away from home during the term time e.g. wedding, visiting elderly or unwell relatives, holiday.
This form should also be completed if a member of the family is ill and therefore the child cannot travel to school. |
Attendance and Punctuality Overview
- Pupils are only at school for 190 days each year. This leaves 175 days each year when pupils are not in school (This is clearly a sufficient amount of time in which to organise holidays, visits and other family events).
- 96% and above represents good attendance. 96% is the equivalent to 9½ days absence per year. This is the minimum expectation.
- 90% attendance represents half a day off every week. This would mean missing 4 weeks of lessons in a year. A child is considered to be enduring 'persistent absence' when attendance levels are 90% or less in England.
- 80% attendance represents 1 day off every week on average.
At Chesswood we firmly believe that for all pupils to gain the greatest possible benefit from their education, both academically and social, regular school attendance is of vital importance. Non-attendance at school, even for short periods, can impact on academic achievement.
Any absence also disrupts teaching and learning for others in the class as important work missed by an absent child will have to be addressed. Regular attendance is also is important for setting an expectation for future patterns of behaviour as they become part of the working world. To this end we will do all we can to encourage parents/carers to ensure that the children in their care achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and acted on promptly.
We do not measure, record or report attendance for any target driven reason, simply because any time away from the planned curriculum is likely to have a negative impact on your child’s learning. The overwhelming majority of parents recognise this and take every opportunity to ensure their child attends school, even when they are not on top form or feeling under the weather – this is the right thing to do. The table below indicates the impact of certain proportions of time away from school - as you will see over the school life of a child absence can quickly add up to missing the equivalent to a full school year:
Parent Responsibilities
We expect that all parents who have day to day responsibility for their children will:
- encourage regular school attendance and be aware of their legal responsibilities;
- Instil the value of education and regular school attendance within the home environment;
- ensure that the child/children in their care arrive at school punctually, prepared for the school day;
- ensure that they contact the school whenever the child/children is unable to attend school, stating clearly the reason for absence;
- contact the school by phone on the first day of the child's absence and keep the school fully informed for longer periods of absence;
- contact the school promptly (before 9.30 a.m.) whenever any problem occurs that may keep the child away from school;
- inform the school of any change in circumstances that may impact on their child’s attendance;
- not keep children in their care away from school for any unauthorised reason;
- avoid unnecessary absences. Wherever possible make appointments for the Doctors, Dentists etc. outside of school hours
- avoid making requests for term time absence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
- ensure that the school has up to date contact details.
COVID-19 & School Attendance
Guide |
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Attendance Matters at Chesswood (Leaflet) |
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Attendance and punctuality policyThe Attendance and Punctuality Policy has been updated for September 2022 to reflect the guidance in 'Working Together to Improve School Attendance'. Please click on the image opposite. |
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Working together to improve school attendanceGuidance to help schools maintain high levels of school attendance including roles and responsibilities. |
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School attendance parental responsibility measuresThis is statutory guidance from the Department for Education. This means that recipients must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating on Parenting Contracts, Parenting Orders and Penalty Notices. Local authorities and all schools have legal powers to use parenting contracts, parenting orders and penalty notices to address poor attendance and behaviour in school. In addition to using these powers, local authorities and schools can develop other practices to improve attendance. |
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Attendance CodesThe national codes enable schools to record and monitor attendance and absence consistently which complies with the regulations. They are also used for collecting statistics through the School Census System. The data helps schools, local authorities and the Government to gain a greater understanding of the level of, and the reasons for, absence. Please click on the image opposite or follow this LINK for more information. |
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Department for Education Attendance Guidance for Maintained Schools.Please click the image opposite to read national guidance for schools in England or follow this LINK. |
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West Sussex County Council - School Absence Guidance.Chesswood works within national and Local Authority guidance for school attendance. Please click on the image opposite to open the guidance set out by West Sussex Local Authority for parents. The guidance includes important information about: Authorised and unauthorised absences The pupil entitlement and investigation team Fixed Penalties Holidays in term time The West Sussex Team may be contacted at:
Please click the image opposite to read West Sussex guidance for schools in England or follow this LINK. |
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Legal PowersLocal councils and schools can use various legal powers if your child is missing school without a good reason. They can give you:
Please click the image opposite for further information or follow this LINK. |