Attendance
Good attendance and punctuality are essential to successful learning. We have a good attendance record at St Paul’s. We award 100% attendance certificates to pupils at the end of each term and at the end of the academic year. We hold an annual attendance and punctuality week to reward classes with the highest attendance and punctuality.
Any absence affects the pattern of learning and regular absence may seriously affect student progress and achievement. This is supported by the figures below:
90% attendance = ½ day missed every week (3 lessons)
1 school year at 90% = 4 whole weeks lost (100 lessons)
90% attendance over 5 years = ½ school year lost (1000 lessons)
Promoting regular attendance:
Helping to create a pattern of regular attendance is everybody’s responsibility – parents and carers, students and staff. At St Paul’s we will:
• Provide reports outlining how your child is performing at school, including what their attendance and punctuality rate is and how this relates to their attainment
• Reward good or improving attendance through Year Group assemblies, certificates and reward events
On occasions children are ill and should not be in school. We follow guidance from the Health Protection Agency to advise families on the necessary period of absence for some conditions. GPs will also give advice to parents on periods of absence. Our Welfare Officer can administer most common prescription medication, once a child’s symptoms have stabilized, enabling pupils to return to school.
If your child is ill, you should contact the school office on the morning of the first day of absence by 8.30 am. You can do this by telephone or by using the report an absence section of this website. You should inform the office on each day of the absence. If contact is not made, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
Term dates are published in advance to support families in planning holidays, weddings and other significant events during the school holidays. All planned absences must be applied for by completing the leave of absence request form. The school has to follow statutory regulations as regards absence during term time. Authorised leave is only granted by the Head teacher in exceptional circumstances. Leave for significant family events within term time, cheaper travel tickets or for cultural events in another country is not authorised. We monitor attendance regularly throughout the year. We also work with the Local Authority’s Education Welfare Officer to identify poor attendance.
If you have some special circumstances which require you to take your child out of school during term time, please complete this application form, giving 21 days’ notice (in all but emergency cases) and return to the School Office. Please give as much detail as you can to support your request and provide a copy of any relevant documents.
The School will consider the following points:
• The child/children’s attendance history
• The age of the child
• The child’s stage of education (eg SATS year)
• The time of year (SATS exams)
• The nature of the trip
• Is there a fixed return date
• Has previous term time leave been applied for and the length of that leave
Please note, late request may automatically be unauthorised – as there may be insufficient time to consider the request in advance.
Once your request has been submitted:
• The response to your request will be available 7 days after the date on which your request was received by the school office.
• A letter giving the response will be given to your child to bring home in their book bag.
• If you have not received a letter of response by the 8th day of your request, please come and check with the school office.
• Please read the letter carefully.
