Information for
Families

It is essential that our pupils form good habits of regular attendance at school from an early age and that excellent attendance is maintained throughout their school career. When a child attends school on a regular basis, they take an important step towards reaching their full potential, and are given the greatest opportunity to learn new things and develop their skills. The more time a child spends around other children, whether in the classroom or as part of a school team or club, the more chance they have of making friends and feeling included, boosting social skills, confidence and self-esteem.

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Arriving at school on time is also an essential routine that needs to be established. Children who are regularly late miss certain essential parts of the school day such as settling down to get ready to learn, early morning learning tasks, reading, grammar, phonics and arithmetic, as well as an explanation of the day ahead. Children who arrive after 8:45 a.m. will be marked as late. Anyone arriving after 9:15 a.m. will be marked absent for the morning session.

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As a school, we are bound by statutory guidance to robustly monitor attendance and identify barriers that might prevent regular attendance for pupils. This will mean that over the year you may receive communication from us regarding your child’s attendance.

• General reminders about attendance and holidays in our school newsletters

• Attendance summary reports each term

• Generic emails to alert you if your child’s attendance drops below 95%, 90%

• Phone calls from staff to discuss your child’s attendance

• Invites for face-to-face meeting to discuss attendance; barriers; strategies; support

​All of the above steps are meant with the best intentions and have your child’s best interests at heart. One of the benefits of a small primary school setting is that we are able to have face-to-face conversations with parents about attendance. We hope to continue having healthy, positive conversations to help support regular attendance.

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Here are some other ways we can work together:

• Leave of absence requests are not authorised during term time. Please check our school term dates before booking holidays. Headteachers are only allowed to grant leave of absence from school in exceptional circumstances.  The decision as to whether any request is considered as ‘exceptional circumstances’ rests solely with the Headteacher. The fundamental principles for defining ‘exceptional’ are rare, significant, unavoidable and short. ‘Unavoidable’ should be taken to mean an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time. Any request should be made prior to the leave of absence and should be submitted to the school using the Request for Leave of Absence Form. Parents / carers may be asked to provide additional information / evidence or meet with the school to discuss the circumstances. Parents / carers will be notified of the Headteacher’s decision at the earliest opportunity. If the circumstances are not considered to be exceptional, parents / carers will be informed of this and made aware that the Local Authority may be asked to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice. A Fixed Penalty Notice can be issued to each parent/carer liable for the offence regarding each of their children. Further information is available on the BCP Council attendance webpage.

• Only keep your child at home if they are too unwell to attend, have been sick (48 hour rule), have an illness that is highly contagious or have a temperature. The NHS has produced guidance on whether time off is required for particular illnesses.

• If your child is on antibiotics or medicines, they may still be able to be in school. Please speak to a member of the school office team. 

• Contact school before 8:45 a.m on the first morning of absence by using the office email (office@prioryceprimary.co.uk) or leaving a voicemail (01202 484105).

• Keep school informed on a regular basis if your child is absent for a long period.

• Send medical evidence where necessary.

• Speak to our Pastoral Lead (Miss Field)/ELSA (Mrs Poulter) if your child is a reluctant attender; we will be able to put in positive strategies to support attendance.