Key Information

 Attendance

To report an absence, please call the School Office on 01934 623430 as soon as possible.

Please note that between the hours of 7.30am and 9.30am this number will be for messages only.

ATTEND TODAY AND ACHIEVE TOMORROW!

Kewstoke Primary seeks to ensure that all its pupils receive an education which enables them to reach their full potential. There is a strong link between good attendance and increased attainment. Pupils who regularly attend school make much better progress socially and academically. Regular attendance enables pupils to adapt better to routines, schoolwork, and friendship groups.  

Kewstoke Primary aims to work in partnership with parents and other agencies to ensure that every child can get the best out of the educational opportunities provided.    

By working in partnership with parents and other agencies, we ensure that we have clear and robust strategies in place to manage and promote regular attendance for all students at Kewstoke. 

We are committed to a whole school approach to attendance and a partnership relationship with parents and carers. 

This attendance overview is supported by our Attendance Policy and is part of broader suite of safeguarding policies meaning it should not be viewed in isolation. Safeguarding policies include the Child Protection Policy, Anti-bullying Policy and Behaviour Policy.  

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

Attending school regularly is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing and wider development. Being in school every day will help your child to: develop social skills and confidence by making friends and socialising; prepare them for adult life by getting used to a routine and ensure that they get better results, which will improve his or her chances in life.  

By law, all children of compulsory school age must receive a suitable full-time education. Once your child is registered at Kewstoke Primary School, you as the parent or carer, are legally responsible for making sure they attend on a regular basis.  If your child does not attend school on a regular basis, you may be fined or prosecuted in court. 

There are only a small number of circumstances where missing a school day is permitted. Your child must attend every day that the school is open, unless:  

• your child is too ill to attend; 

• you have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on a specific day due to exceptional circumstances;  
• your child cannot go to school on a specific day because they are observing a religious event;  
• your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it’s not available or has not been provided yet;  
• your child does not have a permanent address and you are required to travel for work. This exception only applies if your child attends their usual school or another school where you are staying as often as possible. This must be 200 half days or more a year if they are aged 6 or older.   

These are the only circumstances where schools can permit your child to be absent.  

UNDERSTANDING TYPES OF ABSENCE

Every ½ day of absence from school, by law, has to be classified as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of absence is always asked for. 

Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason such as illness, medical appointments and emergencies. 

An absence is classified as Unauthorised, if the reason was not recognised as acceptable. The Department for Education (DfE) and Local Education Authorities provide information for schools as what is acceptable and what is not. 

Examples of reasons that would not be accepted: 

• a birthday; 
• a trip; 
• shopping; 
• a holiday.

HOLIDAYS DURING TERM TIME

There have been important changes to legislation announced by the Department for Education (DfE) with regard to holidays in term time. Schools are no longer allowed to authorise any requests for children to be taken out of school for a holiday during term time. 

Requests for leave can only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and a holiday would not be considered exceptional. Any requests for leave must be made to the school in advance, on an ‘Exceptional Circumstance Request Form’, as the DfE have told schools that they cannot authorise any absences after they have been taken. Parents may receive a penalty notice if their child is absent from school without permission. 

What Should I do if my Child is Absent from School? 

Contact the school office on the first morning and notify us of the absence and provide a reason. 

If contact is not made with school by the parent or carer, the following procedures will be followed: 

• repeated absences will lead to detailed monitoring by the school attendance staff. 
• targets for improvement will be clear and communicated to pupil and parent or carer.  
• school will organise support to remove barriers to regular attendance.  
• school will organise meetings with parents or carers to review and improve attendance.  

• if attendance does not improve, school will refer to the local authority for legal action.

How to Prevent Your Child Missing School. 

You can help prevent your child missing school by:  

• making sure they understand the importance of good attendance and punctuality; 
• taking an interest in their education – ask about school work and encourage them to get involved in school activities; 
• discussing any problems they may have at school and letting their teacher know about anything serious; 
• not letting them take time off school for minor ailments – particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work. 

To avoid disrupting your child’s education, you should arrange appointments and outings: 

• after school hours; 
• at weekends; 

• during school holidays; 

PUNCTUALITY
Registration takes place each morning at 8.45 am and each afternoon at 1.00 pm.;   

• class teachers will enter a present mark (/) on the register for each pupil present and an absent mark for any pupil that is absent.; 

• pupils arriving in the classroom after 9.00am when the register has been taken are deemed to be late and will be marked as L code.; 
• after 9.15am the pupil is deemed to be absent. Any pupil arriving in school after this time will be marked U. In case of emergency the register shows the pupil is on the premises, but they will not receive a present mark toward their overall attendance.  
• parents/carers will be contacted by school if their child is persistently late.

ATTENDANCE MONITORING

As attendance and punctuality is so important to us, we cannot be complacent where there are instances of unacceptable, low pupil attendance, or if pupils are regularly late to school. 

North Somerset Education Authority is keen that we adopt measures and involve external agencies if the level of attendance requires us to do so. A computer generates reports termly and letters are sent to ALL parents where attendance is below 90%. 

DFE: Working Together to Improve Attendance 2022 

From September 2022 the DFE: Working Together to Improve Attendance Paper will replace all previous guidance on school attendance except for statutory guidance for parental responsibility measures.  The Secretary of State has committed to it becoming statutory when parliamentary time allows (this will be no sooner than September 2023). 

ILLNESS IN SCHOOL.

• If a pupil has an elevated temperature and/or is displaying signs of illness parents will be contacted by the school and if necessary, asked to collect their child from school.
• Pupils with minor ailments will be encouraged to stay in school where possible.
• We do not normally contact parents if pupils are reporting headaches/tummy aches etc unless we have a cause for concern.
• We ask that parents do not arrive at school to collect pupils unless this has been agreed with a member of staff.

If your child requires medication in school, please complete and return a Parental Consent form for medications. Please be aware that if pupils are collected from school prior to a discussion with school staff the absence may not be authorised.

OUR ATTENDANCE FOR 2023-2024