St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery
Attendance
As a school we take attendance very seriously and would like to remind parents that absences for holidays during term time will not be authorised. If you need to take your child out of school for another reason, which is exceptional, please complete a Term Time Absence Form.
Every School Day Counts…. Days off add up to lost learning
Please click on the link below to read our Attendance Policy
Did you know?
90% attendance is equivalent to missing over 100-hour long lessons in one academic year
If you take your child on a 2-week term time holiday, annual attendance instantly drops to 95%.
Learning is a progressive activity; each day’s lessons build upon those of the previous day. Children cannot miss school and easily slot back into lessons (sequence of learning).
A child who is absence for one day every fortnight will have missed one year of school (190 pupil days) by the end of Year 10
If a child misses half a term a year, (i.e. attendance consistently falls below 85%) this will total more than a year of missed education by the time they leave their primary school, extending to more than 2 years missed education by the time they leave secondary school.
Illness
It is our view that unless children are unwell, they should be in school. Of course, children who are unwell should stay at home until they are well enough to return – especially as we are now moving into the season of colds and flu. The prevalence of COVID in circulation within the community is also why we need to ensure that we try to avoid spreading germs in order to protect others. However, this is balanced with the research which tells us that good attendance is key to success both educationally and beyond. If your child is unwell with
Term Time Holidays
We have seen a significant rise in holiday requests for children. Term time holidays will always be unauthorised unless there are exceptional circumstances. This means that taking your child out of school is of unique and significant emotional, educational or spiritual value which outweighs the loss of teaching time. Fundamentally, these are events that are ‘rare, significant, unavoidable and short’.
The DfE are very clear that holidays should be taken during dedicated school holidays. Children find it incredibly difficult to slip back into learning after an extended period out of school. If holidays are taken in term time annually then the impact of this can be huge on a child’s education.
Punctuality
The very start of the school day is really important in all of the classes. The doors open at 8.30am and close at 8.45am. During this time the children have the chance to change books, talk to friends, practice key skills as well as talk to staff. It allows children to physically and mentally prepare for the day ahead. At 8.45am the teachers take the registers and then start the days learning Children who are late to school miss both the important start to the day, but also the start of lessons, learning and retrieval. This is incredibly unsettling for children, so whilst it may only be a few minutes, the impact can actually push through the remainder of that lesson.
At St Joseph's we want to work with you as parents to support your children's attendance. If you would like to discuss your child’s attendance or punctuality then please reach out to us – we are here to help. It is imperative that we work together to improve pupil attendance and give our children the best possible opportunities.
Please don’t let your child miss out on the education they deserve.
Every school day coun