Attendance and Punctuality

Our target for attendance is 96%

St John's recognises that good attendance and punctuality are central to raising standards and pupil attainment.

For our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly and be at school, on time, every day the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.

Ensuring a child’s regular attendance at school is a parental responsibility and permitting absence from school without a good reason creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution.

In the case of exceptional circumstances, permission must be granted by the Head of School. Parents/carers must complete a ‘Leave of Absence in Term Time’ application which needs to be submitted at least four weeks before the intended date of absence.

At St. John's we want to ensure that our pupils receive every opportunity available to them to achieve their full potential. In order to gain the most from school, children need to attend school regularly and on time. We know that when children miss lessons, due to absence or lateness, it has a negative impact on their progress. As teachers often plan sequences of lessons over a week or longer period of time, one missed day really does matter; it means that your child has to catch up on what has been missed. 

We want to ensure that pupils are in school for the maximum number of days. Our attendance target figure for all pupils is 96% which means missing school no more than 6 days per year, or two days per term.  Good attendance at primary school helps children develop skills for life; missing school seriously affects life opportunities. 

The school is unable to authorise any term time holiday.  In very special circumstances, the school may grant special leave if the necessary evidence is provided. 

In our policy, we have detailed our procedures for dealing with poor attendance and punctuality. 

Attendance Policy (for pupils) 2024 2025

Good Attendance and Punctuality- New Guidelines

Effective from August  2024

At St John’s Angell Town CE Primary  School, we aim for children to achieve at least 96% attendance for a full school year. There are clear links between poor attendance and poor attainment. If children are absent from school, they may miss key learning opportunities resulting in gaps in their knowledge and understanding. This can significantly impact upon their learning and development.

Absence from school should only occur when a child is unfit to learn, where there is an exceptional circumstance or when the child has a day of religious observance. The Education Regulations 2013 make clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. All family holidays and any term time leave should be arranged to be taken outside of school time.

If you have exceptional circumstances and wish to request a leave of absence during term time, please complete the request form (available from the office and school website) and return it to the school office as far in advance of the requested leave period as possible.

We will continue to support you and your families in times of crisis and all requests for leave during term time will be considered on an individual basis. If permission is not granted, but the leave is still taken, you may be referred to our Education Welfare Officer (EWO) and/or the local authority for consideration of a Penalty Notice.

Changes to Penalty Notices for Non School Attendance from 19^th August 2024

Under new rules, set by the Department for Education, from 19th August 2024 there will be significant changes for Penalty Notices issued for unauthorised absences from school.

Who is liable for a Penalty Notice/ Prosecution?

Penalty notices/ prosecution are issued for each parent for each child. Parent refers to anyone with parental responsibility and may include carers, step-parents, grandparents or any other adult with parental responsibility.

Reasons for Penalty Notices/Prosecution Term Time Leave of Absence

Term time leave: Our EWO may apply to the local authority for a penalty notice if there are 5 or more days of consecutive absence due to term time leave.

Unauthorised Absence: Our EWO may apply to the local authority for a penalty notice if there are 10 or more sessions

of unauthorised absence in a 10-week period.

These absences can be a combination of the following codes:

• G - Term Time Leave of Absence
• 0 - Unauthorised Absence
• U - Unauthorised Late Arrival After the Close of Registers

Punctuality

Our school gates open at xxx  Children need to be in class and ready to learn by xxxx am each day, when the register is called. Regular attendance and good punctuality are important for maximising achievement and gaining the greatest benefit from education.

If there are circumstances, we should be aware of in connection with your child's attendance or punctuality, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Leadership Team. All information received will be held confidentially and we will endeavour to offer support and advice where possible. 

Please click here to see:

Application for Special Leave - Pupils