For all year groups the school day starts at 8.45am; the school doors open from 8.35am for the children to enter school and be in class ready for lessons at 8.45am.
Registration closes at 9.10am. Subsequent late arrives will be recorded as ‘late – after register has closed’ which will affect attendance levels.
At St Joseph & St Theresa’s Catholic Primary School we strive for excellent attendance figures. The government sets guidelines for pupils attendance.
Central to raising standards in education and ensuring all pupils can fulfil their potential is an assumption so widely understood that it is insufficiently stated – pupils need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education. Missing out on lessons leaved children vulnerable to falling behind. Children with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and secondary school.
From the 1st January 2020 we started working in partnership with Staffordshire County Council’s Education Welfare Service to help maintain the regular attendance of our pupils. The Education Welfare Officer (EWO) will regularly visit school and review the attendance of individual students. We will also communicate any significant attendance concerns to the EWO so that we can ensure your child is receiving a suitable education.
Following guidance from the Local Authority it is our school’s expectation that all pupils have an attendance percentage of above 96%.
100% – Excellent Attendance – Well Done!
95% or above – Is good attendance (less than 10 days absence in a year). 95% is the national average attendance rate for a child at primary school.
91 – 94% – A cause for concern, you could be missing up to 2 weeks of learning in the school year. The EWO would be aware of individual attendance at this level and you may be invited to an attendance meeting at school.
Persistent absence is defined as an attendance rate of 90% or below.
85 – 90% – Persistant Absence – A Serious Cause for Concern, you could have missed up to 4 weeks of learning in the school year – improvement is needed. The EWO would be become involved and help to improve attendance levels.
Less than 85% – Persistent Absence –
A Serious Cause for Concern, you are missing more than 6 weeks of learning. The EWO could at this stage issue warnings and ultimately fines for persistently missing school.
Every Day Counts! It is vital that pupils attend school, on time, every day in order to gain the greatest benefit from their education.
Authorised or Unauthorised Attendance
An attendance register is taken twice a day and this shows whether the child is present, engaged in an approved educational activity off-site or absent.
If a child of compulsory school age is absent, every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school, as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. Only school can authorise the absence, not the parents. This is why information about the cause of each absence is always required, either in writing, be email, via Parent Mail or telephone.
A full copy of our school attendance policy can be found here and also in the policies section of the website.
https://www.st-joseph-st-theresa.staffs.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Attendance-Policy-2023.pdf
Absence due to Illness
Parents or carers should contact school before 9.00am on the first day of absence and subsequent days if necessary. Parents can also inform of an absence due to illness through Parent Mail. Children should not stay at home if they have minor coughs, colds, tummy aches or headaches. If your child is too poorly to remain at school we will contact you.
Please remember that even absence due to genuine medical reasons will still affect your child’s attendance.
Requests for Leave of Absence
Requests must be made in advance by requesting a ‘Request for Leave during Term Time’ form from the school office. Absence requests are only authorised in exceptional circumstances and can only be authorised by the Head Teacher.
If the request for leave is not authorised and the leave is still taken parents will be issued a penalty notice from the Staffordshire County Council Education Welfare team. The fine is £60 per pupil, per adult.
Class Attendance for 2022/23
- Reception – 92%
- Year 1 – 95%
- Year 2 – 96%
- Year 3 – 97%
- Year 4 – 96%
- Year 5 – 96%
- Year 6 – 96%
- Overall school attendance – 96%