Attendance

Our school has a target to achieve at least 97% attendance over the course of the year...help us to achieve our target by coming to school every day you possibly can!

Every moment matters!

The world is run by those who turn up!

Attendance Matters

#beheretolearn

As a school working closely with Forward As One Multi Academy Trust, it is our shared ambition to have every child in school every day and therefore a robust and effective attendance strategy is implemented in our school.

Five reasons why attending school is so important:

Children have the right to an education
Parents/Carers have a legal responsibility to ensure their child attends school. Schools and Local Authorities have a duty to ensure that students take up this right.
There is a direct link between high child absence and low attainment in school.
Getting children to attend school regularly and be on time is an essential skill for life.
Poor attendance can lead to children being isolated from their friends, poor and unsettled behaviour, anti-social behaviour or criminal activity.

Ten Attendance Tips: How can I help my child attend school regularly?

Ensure they pack their bag the night before
Ensure that their uniform is ready, especially after the holidays or weekends.
Get them to bed at a reasonable hour to get a good night’s sleep – don’t let them take their phone to bed.
Set the alarm clock early enough to give them plenty of time to prepare.
Make sure they have some breakfast.
Set off so that they are not late: punctuality is important (children on school site by 8.50am)
Check to make sure they have everything they need – PE kit, packed lunch, wellies etc.
Talk to your child about what they did in school today
Ensure your child has completed any homework and reads regularly at home
If you are worried about your child’s attendance, please get in touch with us as soon as possible so that we can offer support.

Some facts and figures on attendance

90% attendance equals half a day of school missed every week
One school year at 90% attendance = 4 whole weeks of lessons and schoolwork missed
90% attendance over 5 years of school = half a school year missed
There is a direct correlation between low attendance and future employment prospects

What do I do if my child is ill and cannot attend school?

Parents or carers must inform the school by telephone, or, where this is not possible, via email or Dojo message, as soon as possible on the day of the absence (Mrs Heeley, school administrator on 01254 234562 email r.heeley@allsaints-clm.lancs.sch.uk or Dojo message to Mrs Heeley)
Parents must make contact with the school every day their child is off.

Punctuality

Your child must be on the school site by 8:55am ready for the school day to begin at 9am
If you are aware your child is going to be late, please telephone or email the school office
If your child arrives late to school, they must sign in at the main office before they go to their class
Children arriving more than 10 minutes late, i.e., from 9:10am onwards, will be marked down as ‘unauthorised absence’.
Being late for school reduces learning time. If your child is 5 minutes late every day, they will miss three days of learning each year. If your child is 15 minutes late every day, they will miss 2 weeks of learning each year!

My child needs a medical appointment or orthodontic treatment during school time – What should I do?

We completely understand that certain medical appointments, such as orthodontic treatments, have to be carried out in school time, and parents have very little choice on the times that they are offered. In these cases, we only ask that we are given advance warning and children attend school before appointments and return to school as quickly as possible.
For all other appointments (such as doctor or dentist) we ask that, where possible, these are made outside of the school day or at a time which means your child will miss as little schooling as possible. Whole days will not be authorised for routine appointments.
Where a child is off school for more than 3 days, school may request medical evidence to be given to the school –this can be a GP appointment card or medication/prescription and does not require a GP to write a letter directly to school

Can I take my child out of school for any other reason?

It is not in your child’s best interests to miss any schooling. Every school day counts towards your child’s future. Days off school add up to lost learning
Your child is at school for 190 days and at home for 175 non-school days a year.
This time not at school gives families ample opportunity to go on holiday, visit relatives, take long weekends away, birthday treats or special days out, to go shopping etc.

I am concerned that my child is not ill but does not want to come to school – What should I do?

Contact your child’s class teacher or Mrs SC or Mrs Huddy so we can offer advice, support and strategies to work together to rectify the situation.

Make every minute count

Attendance, Leave in Term Time and Penalty Notices

Information for Parents and Carers

Leave in Term Time

The law is clear that pupils must attend school regularly, and headteachers may only authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. There is no entitlement for parents or carers to take their child out of school during term time.

If you wish to request leave of absence, you must complete an Absence Request Form and submit it to the school in advance. Approval must be granted by the Headteacher before any bookings are made. If a holiday is booked without prior approval, or where approval has not been granted, the resulting absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

Use of Penalty Notices

Since 19 August 2024, a new National Framework for Penalty Notices has applied to all schools in England. Under this framework, a Penalty Notice must be considered where a pupil has 10 or more unauthorised sessions of absence (equivalent to 5 school days) within any rolling 10-school-week period. These sessions do not need to be consecutive and can result from any combination of unauthorised absence, including a single unauthorised holiday of five days or more.

Supporting Families First

All Saints' CE Primary School views a Penalty Notice as a last resort. Wherever attendance concerns arise, we will work with families first to understand and address the reasons behind any absence. This may include support meetings with our Attendance Champion, a Parenting Contract setting out agreed actions and support for the family, or referral to other school or external support services. A Penalty Notice will only be requested where this support has not resulted in improved attendance, or where absence has been taken without agreement despite this advice.

When a Penalty Notice Will Be Requested

All Saints' CE Primary School will ask the Local Authority to issue a Penalty Notice where the national threshold is met, including in the following circumstances:

Leave of absence taken without a prior request being made
Leave taken after a request has been refused, where parents have been informed the absence will be unauthorised, but the leave is taken regardless
Days taken in excess of an agreed period of leave, without good reason
Continued unauthorised absence where support, including a Parenting Contract, has not led to an improvement

Penalty Notice Amounts

Penalty Notice fines are issued per parent, per child:

Payment Timescale	Amount
Paid within 21 days	£80 per parent, per child
Paid between 22 and 28 days	£160 per parent, per child

If a second Penalty Notice is issued for the same child within a rolling three-year period, it will be charged at £160 with no reduced rate available. A third offence within that period will not result in a further Penalty Notice; instead, other enforcement action, which may include prosecution, will be considered.

Please note: a separate Penalty Notice is issued for each child registered at the school, and notices are issued individually to each parent or carer with parental responsibility.

If you have any concerns about your child's attendance, or are facing difficulties that are affecting your child's ability to attend school regularly, please speak to our Attendance Champion in confidence. We are here to help.