School Attendance
The staff at Springfield Primary Academy are committed, in partnership with all stakeholders, to building a school which serves the community, and which is the community school of choice.
High levels of attendance at school are vital for children’s future life chances as it allows them to access all learning and teaches them important lifelong skills and work ethic. At Springfield Primary Academy we will do all we can to encourage and support parents/carers to ensure their children achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and rectified promptly. Pupils will be expected to achieve 100% attendance, but when absence is unavoidable, parents/carers are required to inform the school at the earliest opportunity.
Springfield Primary Academy believes that pupils cannot maximise the learning and enrichment opportunities on offer, allowing them to achieve their full potential if they do not regularly attend school.
Attendance and Safeguarding Parent Workshop - 13.10.2022
Why is regular attendance at school important?
Pupils cannot achieve their full potential if they do not regularly attend school. We want every child to achieve their full potential and we know that parents share this goal. There is a clear link between good attendance and educational achievement. If your child is not in school, on time, as often as possible they will be missing out on many important parts of their education.
Regular school attendance will mean that your child has a better chance in life. Your child will achieve better when they go to school all day, every school day as:
- they learn better
- they make friends
- they are happier
- they have a brighter future.
The Government regard 95% as the minimum satisfactory attendance for a school pupil.
How does your child compare?
Days off school add up to lost learning. Please don’t let your children miss out on the education they deserve.
|
Attendance during one school year |
equals this number of days absent |
which is approximately this many weeks absent |
which means this number of lessons missed |
|
95% |
9 days |
2 weeks |
50 lessons |
|
90% |
19 days |
4 weeks |
100 lessons |
|
85% |
29 days |
6 weeks |
150 lessons |
|
80% |
38 days |
8 weeks |
200 lessons |
We monitor attendance closely and contact parents to inform them and offer support when attendance drops and causes concern.
Absence reporting procedures
If your child is absent from school due to illness, please telephone school on 0121 464 3618 and inform the office staff or leave a message before 9am. If your child’s illness lasts for more than one day, you must phone school daily and inform us why your child is still absent. If your child’s illness lasts longer than 48hrs and you have not already done so, we advise you to seek medical attention.
Parental illness is NOT an excuse for children not attending school. Children must attend school every day unless they are ill.
Family emergencies need careful consideration. It is not always in the best interests of the pupil to miss school for family emergencies that are being dealt with by adult family members. School and school friendships and relationships can provide pupils with stability and care during difficult times. The routine of school can provide a safe and familiar background to life during times of upheaval.
Medical Appointments
Routine appointments are expected to take place during school holidays and outside of the school day. If your child has a medical appointment, during the school day, please give a copy of the appointment letter or card to the office staff, before the day of the appointment, who will notify the class teacher and a photocopy of the document will be taken. If the appointment letter or card is not submitted, your child’s absence will be recorded as unauthorised. (Please refer to the Fast Track guidance which explains the action which can be taken if your child has unauthorised absences).
Safe and Well Home Visits
If your child is absent from school, you do not inform school and we cannot make contact, a member of the pastoral team will visit your home to ask why your child is absent from school. If you are not present, you will be left a letter asking you to contact school. It is very important that you contact school and inform us why your child is absent. If we do not hear from you, we will be concerned and may refer you to Children’s Services.
It is a parent/carer’s legal responsibility to ensure their children receive appropriate education. Failing to send your child to school regularly without good reason is a criminal offence. If your child's level of absence is a concern, school will offer advice and support to improve attendance. After this and if there is no improvement, any unauthorised absence may result in the school and the Local Authority taking legal action, using 'Fast Track monitoring.'
FAST-track to Attendance’ – The Four Step ‘Early Help’ Approach
Fast-track to Attendance’ is an Early Help approach to improving pupil attendance which also seeks to act quickly where there is unauthorised absence. It is for all schools, academies and alternative providers. There are no specific timelines to follow, the process can be used at a time which is right for the individual pupil and schools have only one formal letter they will need to send to each parent.
Leave in Term Time Leave of Absence from School
Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Unauthorised absence of this nature may be subject to a fine. The Head of School will determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted. Please observe these regulations. Should there be any exceptional circumstances, please discuss these with the Head of School before making any bookings.
Punctuality
As you may be aware, the law treats some persistent lateness in the same way as irregular attendance and parents may be prosecuted by the local authority if late arrival is not resolved.
|
Minutes late per day during the school year |
Days of teaching lost in a year
|
|
5 mins |
3.4 days |
|
10 mins |
6.9 days |
|
15 mins |
10.3 days |
|
20 mins |
13.8 days |
|
30 mins |
20.7 days |
Poor punctuality can lead to your child…
- Feeling embarrassed in front of their friends
- Missing the beginning of vital lessons
- Missing important instructions for the rest of the school day
- Learning bad habits which could affect their employability in the future
If your child arrives at school after 9.00am when the gates are closed, your child will be admitted by staff at the Springfield Road gate. You will be asked to sign your child in stating the reason for the lateness. This will be logged and monitored by the pastoral team, for improvement. If there is no improvement, you will be invited into school to discuss reasons for lateness.
If your child arrives at school after 9.15 am, they will need to enter via the admin office and will be recorded with a U code which means Unauthorised Absence. (Please refer to the Fast Track guidance)
Lateness and Unauthorised absences will be taken into consideration at the end of term when the Attendance Awards are issued. Please be aware, children who are constantly late or have unauthorised absences will not receive an Attendance Award.
