Attendance and Punctuality
THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING SCHOOL
At Woodchurch CE Primary we believe that for children to achieve their full potential, they need to attend school regularly and punctually; we are committed to working in partnership with our families to ensure this happens.
The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.
Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly, on time. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.
Below are just some of the key reasons why it is important children attend school:
To learn.
To have fun.
To make new friends.
To experience new things in life.
To achieve.
To develop new skills, build confidence and self-esteem.
For well-being
SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES
At Woodchurch CE Primary School, we understand that sometimes it can be difficult to get your children to school. We offer the following support network to help families:
Contact from the school office on the first day of absence.
Support from our staff team, including home visits if appropriate.
Phone call/meetings with our Attendance Officer if your child’s absence is causing concern or you need support with your child’s attendance and or punctuality.
Attendance Panel Meetings if attendance falls below 92%
Signpost to wider agency support
SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD’S ATTENDANCE
Establish a good routine in the mornings and evenings so your child is prepared for the school day ahead.
Make sure your child goes to school regularly and follows the school rules.
Ensure your child arrives at school on time at 8:50 am – not late.
Arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours when possible.
Always inform the school if your child is absent due to illness.
Take family holidays outside term time.
Talk to your child about school and take an interest in their schoolwork (including homework).
REWARDS AND PRAISE
It is important that we celebrate good and improving attendance. We have a range of rewards in place to celebrate good attendance across school, including:
Weekly celebration of class attendance percentage – Woody the Bear
Celebration in Newsletters
Roll The Dice
Weekly 100% stickers
100% Bronze, Silver and Gold merits over the year
Phone calls home
ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY
Regular and punctual attendance at school is a legal requirement. When children arrive late and miss the start of the school day, they can miss work and vital information for the day. If your child arrives just 10 minutes late to school every day this can add up to the equivalent of a whole week of school time missed. Late arriving pupils also disrupt lessons, and this can be embarrassing and upsetting for the child. Lateness can also encourage absence, as some pupils would rather not attend school at all, than arrive late.
· Registers are marked by 9:00 am If children arrive in class after this time, they will receive a late mark in the register (code L).
· Registers will close at 9:15am. If children arrive after this time, they will be recorded as having arrived after closure of registers (code U). This counts as an unauthorised absence for that session.
· Any pupil arriving late should enter the school through the main reception and the person bringing in the child must sign them in accordance with school’s procedures.
· If a primary school child arrives late and is unaccompanied by a parent/carer, school will make contact to establish the reason for lateness.
If lateness becomes a regular occurrence, it will be treated in the same way as unauthorised absence, with parents/carers being contacted and invited into school to discuss the situation.
Families who are unable to resolve these ongoing issues after discussion may receive a Local authority education penalty notice.
At Woodchurch CE Primary, children are expected to be collected promptly from school at 3.20pm. If you are going to be late for whatever reason please contact the school office by phone to inform the school, so that a message can be given to your child’s class teacher. We want to make sure children are safe and don’t worry about their families not arriving
Absences
When your child is absent, it is important that you contact us with a reason. Failure to provide an acceptable reason for absence will result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised.
Of course, we understand that there are times when children become ill and such absences will be authorised unless the school has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness. If your child is suffering with a minor illness, please let us know on the school gate the know and we pass a message onto their class teacher.
Holidays
Holidays are expected to be taken during the school holidays. The school is not able to authorise any holidays which are taken during term time. Parents/ carers have a duty of care to notify the school if you are taking a holiday during term time. You will need to complete an Application for Leave form. Forms are reviewed and logged by the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher. Families may receive Education penalty notices if they decide to take children on holiday during term time as all children are expected to be in school so they do not miss learning and maintain positive attendance habits. As of September 2025 the government has also made changes to how fines work when children miss school:
· 1 st instance - The fine is now £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid between days 22–28.
· 2nd instance - If a parent receives a second fine within three years, it will automatically be £160.
· 3rd instance - A third offence within three years will lead to court action instead of a fine.
Medical Appointments
We encourage medical appointments to be made outside of school time, however we understand that this is not always possible. If you do have a medical appointment during the school day we will need to see an appointment letter/ card to confirm this. Children are expected to either attend school before appointments or return back to school after appointments. We cannot authorise for siblings to miss school due to medical appointments when the appointment is not for them.
By working in partnership to ensure your child’s regular attendance, together we will help build their confidence, wellbeing and chances to succeed in the future!