Attendance and Punctuality

At Holy Family, we expect every child to achieve attendance of at least 96%. Every day in school matters – regular attendance gives children the best opportunity to learn, thrive and achieve their full potential.

At Holy Family, we believe that every school day matters. Regular attendance and good punctuality give children the best opportunity to learn, make progress, develop friendships and enjoy all that school has to offer.

We expect all pupils to achieve at least 96% attendance wherever possible and ask parents and carers to work with us to support regular attendance.

Meet our Attendance Warriors!

To help children understand the importance of good attendance in a positive and engaging way, we have introduced our Holy Family Attendance Warriors.

Our four warriors represent different levels of attendance:

Each month, children will receive an Attendance Warrior collector card that reflects their current attendance. They can collect their Warriors throughout the year and are encouraged to work towards achieving our Gold Gladiator attendance level.

Which Attendance Warrior will you collect this month?

Attendance Bikes

Another exciting way we celebrate excellent attendance at Holy Family is through our annual Attendance Bikes prize draw!

Each year, two brand-new bikes – one for Key Stage 1 and one for Key Stage 2 – are displayed above our school hall, ready to be won at the end of the academic year.

For every full week of attendance, a pupil receives a raffle ticket for the end-of-year draw. The more full weeks of attendance they achieve, the more tickets they will have in the draw.

At the end of the school year, two lucky pupils will each win a brand-new bike, just in time for the summer holidays!

Our Attendance Bikes are made possible thanks to our incredible PFA and the fantastic support they receive from our families and school community. Their fundraising enables us to continue this much-loved tradition each year. A huge thank you to everyone who supports the PFA and helps make opportunities like this possible for our children.

Persistent and Severe Absence

The Department for Education defines a pupil as persistently absent when they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions. This is broadly equivalent to attendance of 90% or below.

Over a full school year, 90% attendance represents approximately 19 days of absence – almost four weeks of school.

A pupil who misses 50% or more of their possible school sessions is considered severely absent.

Where attendance becomes a concern, we will work with families to understand the reasons for absence and identify appropriate support to help improve attendance.

Reporting an Absence

If your child is too unwell to attend school, please telephone the school on the first morning of absence and let us know the reason.

If your child remains absent, please continue to keep the school informed in accordance with our absence-reporting arrangements.

Where we do not receive an explanation for an absence, or where the reason given cannot be authorised, the absence may be recorded as unauthorised.

Medical Appointments

Wherever possible, routine medical and dental appointments should be arranged outside school hours.

Where an appointment during the school day is unavoidable, please inform the school in advance. We may ask for evidence of the appointment where appropriate.

Children should attend school before and/or after their appointment wherever it is practical for them to do so.

Holidays and Leave During Term Time

Family holidays should not be taken during term time.

The Headteacher may only grant a leave of absence during term time where exceptional circumstances apply. Each request will be considered individually.

Parents and carers should contact the school before making arrangements that would require their child to be absent during term time.

Punctuality

Being on time is an important part of good attendance. Arriving late can be unsettling for a child and means they may miss important learning at the beginning of the day.

The Church Path gate opens at 8:45am and children should make their way into school ready for the day.

The school day begins and the gate closes at 8:55am.

Children arriving after 8:55am should report to the school office with their parent/carer so that they can be registered.

Arrival after the register has closed without an authorised reason may be recorded as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.

Why Good Attendance Matters

Regular and punctual attendance helps children to:

• make the most of every learning opportunity;
• make good academic progress;
• develop and maintain friendships;
• establish positive routines and good timekeeping habits; and
• develop the skills and attitudes that will support them throughout their education and later life.

Activities such as shopping trips, birthdays, waiting for deliveries, days out and visits to relatives are not acceptable reasons for absence from school.

Do you know your child' attendance?

You can check your child's current attendance information through your Arbor account.

If you have any concerns about your child's attendance, or there are circumstances making regular attendance difficult, please speak to us. We want to work with families to address barriers to attendance as early as possible.

Parents' and Carers' Responsibilities

Parents and carers have a legal responsibility to ensure that a child of compulsory school age receives a suitable full-time education.

Where a child is registered at school, parents and carers are responsible for ensuring that they attend regularly.

Schools and local authorities will seek to work with families to address attendance difficulties. However, where unauthorised absence continues, legal intervention may be considered.

Penalty Notices for Unauthorised Absence

There is a national framework for penalty notices for school absence.

A penalty notice must be considered where a pupil reaches the national threshold of 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a rolling period of 10 school weeks. Ten sessions are usually equivalent to five school days. The sessions do not need to be consecutive.

Where a penalty notice is issued:

• First penalty notice: £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 if paid within 28 days.
• Second penalty notice within three years: £160 per parent, per child, with no reduced rate.
• Third occasion within three years: a third penalty notice cannot be issued. Other action, including prosecution, may instead be considered.

If a parent is prosecuted for failing to ensure their child's regular attendance, the court has a range of powers and, depending on the offence, a fine of up to £2,500 may be imposed.

For further information or support with your child's attendance, please contact the School Office.