Attendance

We keep you regularly informed of your child’s attendance data. Our school target is 97% and as you know we have attendance rewards for both classes and individual pupils to encourage good attendance.

School starts at 8.45am. If your child arrives after the 8.45am bell but before 9.15am, they will receive a late mark. If they arrive after 9.15am, they will be marked as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.

Please notify us as soon as possible if your child is unwell (by 9am) and we can record this as an authorised absence. A message can be left on the attendance answerphone of by calling the office. If we do not receive a reason (we will try to contact ALL contacts for your child), the absence will be unauthorised.

We will only authorise absences for medical reasons/appointments or family events listed in the exceptional circumstances - for example, an immediate family wedding/funeral. We cannot authorise any other holiday, eg., for birthdays, family visits, get-togethers. Any requests for absences in relation to exceptional circumstances will need to be put in writing using a 'Leave of absence (exceptional circumstances)' request form which can be obtained from the school office.

We are happy to give medication, e.g. Calpol if your child has a cold but is well enough to come to school, in line with our ‘Managing Medicines in School’ policy. Please bring medication to reception and complete a form.

Please try and keep medical/dental appointments outside school hours. Where this is not feasible, please take your child out of school for as little time as possible.

The reason we try to achieve good attendance is not about the school target – it is for your child’s future.

•Attendance of 90% equates to one day off a fortnight, 80% is one day a week.

•The higher the overall absence rate, the lower the likely level of attainment at the end of KS2.

•Pupils with no absence are 1.3 times more likely to achieve Age-Related Expectations (ARE) or above, and 3.1 times more likely to achieve Greater Depth Standard (GDS) or above, than pupils that missed 10-15% of all sessions.

•73% of pupils who have over 95% attendance achieve 5 or more GCSEs at grades 9-4

•Being fifteen minutes late every day is one and a quarter hours a week missed, often phonics in KS1.

Letters will be sent home if your child's attendance is causing a concern. We also work closely with the Attendance Improvement Officer (AIO) to monitor termly attendance and challenge attendance.

Please remember, if you have any problems getting your child to school regularly – come and talk to us, we are happy to help.

If your child is absent from school without authorisation, you will be committing an offence under the Education Act 1996. We may submit a request to Cornwall Council for a Penalty Notice to be issued, in accordance with Sections 444A and 444B of the said Act. Penalty Notices are issued per liable parent, per child and each carry a fine of £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid after this but within 28 days. If your child is further absent from school without authorisation within any 3- year period, you will be committing a further offence under the Education Act 1996. We may submit a request to Cornwall Council for a Penalty Notice to be issued, in accordance with Sections 444A and 444B of the said Act. Penalty Notices for a second offence are issued per liable parent, per child and each carry a fine of £160, payable within 28 days. Importantly, fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice may also result in legal action. If you are prosecuted and attend court because your child has not been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500. Cornwall Council may also apply for the costs incurred in taking the matter to Court, including legal costs. Absence not authorised by the school may also result in a prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court under Section 444(1) or Section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996, leading to a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a custodial sentence.

Again, Cornwall Council may also apply for the costs incurred in taking the matter to Court, including legal costs. Money raised from fines is only used by the local authority to cover the costs of administering the system, and to fund attendance support. Any extra money is returned to the government.

ADMAT Attendance Policy 11-2024 [Review 05-2027]

Whole School Warning Letter (Unauthorised Leave of Absence)

EYFS leaflet

KS1 and KS2 leaflet