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St Michael's CofE Primary School

Attendance

08.35am – 08.50am Morning motivation

08.50am - Registers taken

08.50am – 09.15am Your child will be marked as present but ‘late’ (L).

09.15am onwards Your child is marked as ‘unauthorised’ (U). This mark will count towards their absence record.

If your child is unwell or will not be attending school for any reason please contact the school before 9am by leaving a message on the absence line answer phone or emailing the school office for every day of their absence. If we do not hear from you, your child will be marked as ‘Unauthorised Absence’ and this will effect their attendance levels.

We believe that good attendance is the key to good learning outcomes.

We do not authorise term-time holidays unless the circumstances are exceptional. Each case is decided on its own merits, by the Headteacher, without reference to decisions made in relation to other children or families.

Attendance is tracked and monitored by school and the local authority. Our school and national target is 95% attendance. At the end of each term, attendance data will be gathered and shared with our Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) and letters will be sent those with attendance below 95%.

As of August 2024, an updated statutory national framework for attendance was introduced. Previously, it was the responsibility of the local authority and the discretion of the Headteacher to decide when to issue fines to parents, meaning the process varied from council to council. Under the new framework, there are only a few circumstances where a child is allowed to miss school, such as illness or where the school has given permission because of an exceptional circumstance. Under the new national framework, all schools will be required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons. From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.

Please note that these are not set by the school; all the new guidance and rules are from the Department for Education and all schools will be instructed to follow these. Please look at our attendance policy below for further details.