Attendance
"Attendance is the essential foundation to positive outcomes for all pupils including their safeguarding and
welfare and should therefore be seen as everyone’s responsibility in school".
(Working together to improve school attendance DfE 2024
Here at Our Lady's we encourage every child to attend school 100% of the time.
For a child to reach their full educational achievement, regular school attendance is essential. The whole school community and all stakeholders believe strongly that good attendance leads to better child development, both academically and socially.
We strongly encourage medical appointments to be made outside of school hours wherever possible and strongly discourage parents from taking their children out of school during term time.
When a child is absent, the parent/guardian should inform the school either by a Study Bug's message, or telephone before 9.00am on each day of absence. If no message has been received by 9.30am, then the we will attempt to contact the parent/guardian. It is the Headteacher’s decision whether to authorise the absence. Absence without a valid reason is considered unauthorised.
Being punctual to school is also key for every child’s development. The register is taken at 8.55am each morning and essential learning starts from this time also. This first session of learning often covers key skills such as mental maths, spelling or editing pieces of work from the day before.
Support for families
Sometimes it can be tricky to make the decision as to whether to send your child to school or not when they are unwell. Please do not hesitate to contact us so that we can support you and offer advice where possible. We are also here to listen if your child's attendance is causing concern. Do call us and come in for a chat - we are here to help.
In order to help you make the sometimes tricky decision as to whether your child should come to school when unwell, the NHS have provided this great document for families to refer to: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Please speak to Mrs Catherine Burch or Mrs Vicky Palmer, Attendance Leaders, if you have any questions or concerns regarding attendance.
Registration
A daily register is taken using Study Bugs. Register codes are entered according to the status of the child’s absence/attendance.
The registers are taken at 8:55am. Children arriving after this time should arrive via the main school office to have the relevant late mark added to the register.
Any child not present for registration will be marked late, and we will follow-up communications in line with our attendance policy.
Please be aware that if your child arrives more than 30 minutes after the register has been taken, they will be marked as an unauthorised absence for that morning and this may have a significant effect upon their attendance figures.
Senior Attendance Lead: Mrs Catherine Burch
Named Governor for Attendance: Mrs Marie McBride
Please see our main Policies page for any relevant Attendance documents.