Punctuality is crucial. Lateness into school causes disruption not only to that child’s learning but also to that of others in the class. The best learning time is at the start of the school day – that’s why every minute counts. If a pupil is late by 10 minutes each day they are missing out on almost 2 weeks of learning each year. Pupils must arrive in good time, doors open at 8.45am with the school day starting at 8.55am.
Parents have a legal duty to ensure that their child receives full time education. Parents therefore must ensure that their child attends school regularly and on time.
Evidence shows that children who arrive at school on time, well organised and well equipped, achieve higher academic grades. Irregular attendance may have a serious impact on a child’s academic progress. Good attendance at school is vital for pupils to achieve their full educational potential. Children with good attendance records benefit in the following ways:
- Have continuity in their learning, making progress and retention easier.
- Attain enhanced performance in academic exams and tests.
- Have long lasting relationships and friendships.
- Learn good habits for later life.
- Have high self-esteem.
- Have the best possible start in life.
Children who miss school, or who are late for school, miss lessons. Lessons are not repeated, therefore children will have gaps in their learning. Additionally, each day’s lessons often build upon those of the previous day – if a child misses a lesson they can miss the foundation to subsequent lessons.
Good attendance, which is over 185 days or 370 sessions (morning and afternoon marks), offers a child the best chance of success and gets them off to a flying start.
Attendance Tips for Parents
- Let school know in advance if your child is going to be absent or if you have concerns about your child’s attendance or school performance.
- Report all absences on the day your child will miss school by calling the office, then each day thereafter to keep school updated.
- Get to know your children’s friends and their families and make connections with other families that value school attendance.
- Contact school for help if it is needed to support your child or family.
- Keep a school year calendar. This is an excellent way to track all of the important dates, holidays, and events at school. It is also a convenient place to document absences (who was absent, why and how you cleared it/date cleared), phone calls/meetings with school staff, and all of your other important school related information.
- Do not let your child persuade you into making an excuse for him/her. Don’t give up. Reward good attendance and take it one day at a time.
- Attendance is a parent and student responsibility. Let your child know that you think attending school daily is important. Show them you are interested in their school activities and tell them that you want them to do well in school.
- Good attendance habits start at an early age. Make sure your child comes to school regularly and on time. This helps them develop a positive view of school and the importance of attendance.
- Become involved in your child’s school life and school activities.
- Take an interest in your child’s school work. Check homework for accuracy and completeness.
- Read the school Newsletters and download our School App. Post the school calendar and notes on the fridge, or other prominent __cpLocation to highlight school activities and important student information.
- Do not provide inappropriate excuses for your child to miss school. Do not let them take time off from school for minor ailments – particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work or completing your day to day activities.
- Don’t expect or let older children stay home from school to babysit younger siblings.
- Set good examples and enforce rules. Speak well of the school and support school staff.
- Make a contract with your child to improve his/her attendance. Reward positive improvements.
- Give your children enough time to get ready. No TV on school mornings!
- Provide pupils with their own alarm clock. Teach children to set and use their own alarm clock or clock radio.
- Set alarm clock 30 minutes earlier for students who need more time to get ready for school.
- Plan ahead the night before, have children prepare clothes and shoes the night before, and pack their schoolbag with completed homework and reading books.
- Set a regular bedtime schedule. Age should be a factor. 3-6 year olds need 11 to 13 hours sleep, 7-12 year olds need 10-11 hours sleep.
- Have your child go to bed 10 minutes earlier and get up 10 minutes earlier.
- Have children bathe or shower in the evening.
- Help your child relax before bedtime with a story, instead of the stimulation of TV, phone, tablet or other device.
- Have schoolwork and lunch ready and laid out, ready to go. Make sure your child’s school bag is packed the night before.
- Have a back-up plan for cold weather – cars not starting, bus delays or longer journey times when walking etc.
Show Interest in Student’s Activities
- Attend Parent/Teacher Meetings.
- Make education a family priority.
- Encourage your child to get more involved with their school. Sign them up for extra-curricular activities they like or an after school program. Studies show the more involved a child and their parents are with their school, the better their attendance and success is.
To view our weekly attendance please visit our weekly newsletter, which shows whole school attendance along with each class’s attendance – click here to view.
Our attendance target this year is 97%, but all pupils should strive to achieve 100% attendance if they can.
At Eccleston Primary School, we believe that high levels of attendance and a punctual start to the school day are important for all children. Promoting excellent attendance is the responsibility of the whole school community: staff, pupils, parents, carers and governors. We consistently promote excellent attendance through our high expectations in pupil behaviour, attitudes towards learning and through the stimulating curriculum.
All children should be at school, on time, every day that we are open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. We aim to ensure that every pupil has access to the full time education to which they are entitled to. Occasionally your child may be reluctant to attend school, we encourage parents to discuss any concerns they have with the class teacher in the first instance. Any problems that arise with attendance are best resolved between school, the parents/carers and the child.
Mr Todd is always happy to meet with you to talk through any concerns or questions you may have.
Please read our Attendance and Punctuality Expectations for more information.
Improving punctuality
Punctuality is an important element of school attendance. Pupils who arrive late to school can disrupt the early morning routines of a school and often struggle to settle into their daily routine. Furthermore, where pupils arrive late after the close of the register, the ‘U’ mark they receive will also impact on attendance levels.
Your child’s teacher and Mr Todd are always happy to meet with you to talk through any concerns or questions you may have.
Holidays / Leave in Term Time
Please Note: The regulations governing the circumstances under which schools can authorise leave have changed from September 2013.
PLEASE THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE TAKING YOUR CHILD OUT OF SCHOOL DURING TERM TIME
- By law you must ask for permission for your children to miss school, well in advance of the planned absence
- Parents can request a leave of absence but, by law, this can only be authorised if the circumstances are exceptional
- Parents who take a child of compulsory school age out of school without permission from the school may be issued with a penalty notice
TO HELP YOUR CHILD DO WELL IN SCHOOL, YOU SHOULD:
- Arrange family holidays/leave of absence to coincide with school holidays wherever possible
- Avoid times when there are important examinations or tests (check with school)
- Always ask the school well in advance for permission
- Be aware of the potential impact on your child’s education
Our process for managing requests for leave in term time is shared within our School Attendance Policy.
The request process should be formalised through the use of a Leave Request Form which should be completed by parents prior to the holiday being booked. A model template can be downloaded below as a PDF and is also obtainable from our school office.
On receiving the leave request form, the Headteacher will consider the circumstances surrounding the request and make a decision regarding whether to authorise the absence or not. We will inform the parent in writing of our decision in a timely manner.
In some cases, particularly if the request for leave is for a longer period of time, or if leave has been taken earlier in the year, or if there are any other concerns, then we may wish to meet with parents to discuss the request in more detail.
School attendance – pay an education penalty notice
The law gives powers to the local authority and other designated bodies to issue penalty notices where a parent/carer is considered to have failed in their legal duty to ensure their child’s regular attendance at school. Reducing absences from school is a key priority nationally and locally because missing school damages a pupil’s attainment levels and disrupts school routines and the learning of others.
Pay an education penalty notice
You have up to 28 days from receipt of the notice to pay the penalty. Fines should be paid in full. It is not an option to pay in part or by instalments. No reminders will be sent.
Penalty notices are issued at £120 however, if paid within 21 days of being issued the cost is £60.
You will need your penalty notice as you will be asked for the penalty notice number.
You can pay online using MasterCard, Maestro, Visa, Electron and Solo.
Pay your penalty notice online
If you prefer to pay by post you can complete the slip at the bottom of the notice and send it with a cheque or postal order to the address given. On receipt of the payment the court officer will write to you to confirm that your payment has been received. Please note you can pay for multiple penalty notices with one cheque or postal order, as long as all the slips are included.
If you have mislaid your penalty notice you can write your name and the pupil(s) name(s) on the back of the cheque or postal order. Alternatively you can contact the issuing officer on 01772 534950 who can provide the penalty notice number(s) needed to pay online.
If we cannot identify who has paid and which pupil(s) the payment relates to, the offence will not be discharged and you will be taken to court.
Penalty notices
Parents/carers commit an offence if a child fails to attend school regularly and the absences are classed as unauthorised. Depending on the circumstances, such cases may result in prosecution under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996.
A penalty notice is an alternative to prosecution. Where parents/carers pay the fine they can avoid being prosecuted and receiving a criminal conviction.
Penalty notices will always be issued by 1st class post to your home and are issued to each parent/carer individually in respect of each child.
This means a number of people may be liable for a penalty notice. For example, your partner may also be served a penalty notice and both must be paid to avoid prosecution.
The expression “parent”, in relation to a child or young person, includes any person who is not a parent of the child but who has parental responsibility for, or who has care of the child (lives with and has day to day contact with the child). If you are the auntie, uncle, grandma, granddad or family friend of the child, you may have received a penalty notice because you have been determined as a parent under the Education Act.
Criteria for penalty notices
Penalty notices may be used in the following circumstances:
- unauthorised absence (including parentally condoned absence)
- truancy
- persistent late* arrival at school
- unauthorised leave in term time
- delayed return from authorised leave
Before a penalty notice is considered, a pupil must have had a minimum of:
- 5 school days/10 sessions unauthorised absence in a term or
- 7 school days/14 sessions unauthorised absence over 2 consecutive terms
These criteria are set out in the code of conduct.
* persistent lateness refers to pupils who arrive after the school register has closed
Warnings
In cases of unauthorised absence and persistent lateness, you will receive a written warning of the possibility of a notice being issued. This will include a copy of your child’s attendance details. The warning letter will advise you of a 15 school day monitoring period during which your child should have no unauthorised absences from school, otherwise a penalty notice will be issued.
In cases of unauthorised leave, warnings will be issued where sufficient notice of the intended absence has been given. This means that in some cases, penalty notices may be issued without a warning.
Appeals and representations
There is no statutory right of appeal for a penalty notice.
It is at the discretion of the headteacher as to whether or not an absence is deemed exceptional and recorded as authorised in accordance with the Department for Education Guidance on applying the Education Pupil Registration Regulations. Any questions about the school’s refusal to authorise leave or the school’s decision to request a penalty notice should be raised with the headteacher informally or with the governing body through the school’s complaints procedure.
The Local Authority School Attendance Legal Team cannot answer questions regarding the schools decision making processes – any such enquiries will be directed back to the school.
Once issued the penalty notice deadlines cannot be put on hold or extended. Whilst you pursue the matter you are still required to pay the penalty notices within the specified timescales to avoid being taken to court. If the decision is overturned, a refund can be issued.
If you believe that the fine contains material errors, you must not ignore it as you will still be liable. You should contact the issuing officer (the court officer) as soon as possible, who will be able to investigate the matter and advise as to whether or not it will be withdrawn and/or reissued, and if you will still need to pay to avoid prosecution.
Consequences of non-payment
You have up to 28 days from receipt of the notice to pay the penalty in full, after which the authority is required in most instances to commence proceedings in the local magistrates’ court for the original offence of failing to ensure your child attends school regularly.
In the event of non-payment of a penalty notice, further correspondence regarding court proceedings will be issued. In some instances, attendance at court may not be necessary; the court paperwork you receive will explain the procedures and what to do next.
If you are convicted, this can attract a range of sentences including fines up to £2,500 and/or up to three months imprisonment. Other disposals such as Parenting Orders or Community Sentences can be imposed depending upon the circumstances. Costs may also be imposed.
Payment of the notice discharges your potential liability for conviction for that period. However, it could be the case that a prosecution might be considered for further periods of poor attendance not covered by the notice, depending on the circumstances.
Advice and support
If you have concerns regarding your child’s attendance you should contact the school to discuss what help might be available.