Attendance | Primary | Wigmore School Academy Trust

Attendance Matters

At Wigmore Primary School, we have incredibly high standards and expectations and this includes ensuring that all of our children have excellent attendance. We acknowledge that academic success is attributed to good attendance.

We fully understand that there are times when children feel unwell and are not able to attend school. The following link can help families make the decision about whether it is appropriate to keep a child away from school.

NHS: Is my Child too Ill for School?

There are also government guidelines for schools and nurseries about managing specific infectious. These say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn't. If your child is well enough to go to school but has an infection that could be passed on, such as a cold sore or head lice, let their teacher know.

With regards to attendance, anything below 96% begins to cause concern in the number of hours in lost learning.

The table above breaks down the percentages of attendance and how many days and lessons are lost in just 1 academic year. This inevitably has a detrimental impact on a child's progress.

Therefore, it is very important that your child attends school every day. Frequent absences will inevitably affect your child’s learning. If your child is ill or there is any other reason why they cannot attend school you must contact the school office on the first day of absence before 09:00. If you fail to inform the school office then we will contact you. If we are unable to contact you to establish the reason for your child’s non-attendance then it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and could be considered a safeguarding concern.

Children arriving after 8.45am are registered as late. Every minute in school is utilised, and this is from the very moment the children enter the school building at 8:30am. It is very important that, unless there are exceptional circumstances your child should be at school for the prescribed time.

Please do not drop your child off at the school gates if they are late. You must accompany your child
into school where they must be signed in. If children arrive late for morning registration that information is recorded on the schools register.

If a child arrives late in the classroom, it:
• Makes them stand out as being different from the rest of the children in class.
• Is detrimental to their learning, particularly if they miss the introductory session of the lesson which dictates the tasks they will be required to engage in.
• Is part of a process that can build up over time. For instance missing 15 minutes each day is the equivalent to missing 10 days learning over a school year.

Term Time Absence Request

Children will only be granted authorised absence by the school in exceptional circumstances. A family holiday is not considered to be exceptional and therefore, no term time holidays will be authorised by the school.

The school will only grant term time holidays or leave of absences in EXCEPTIONAL circumstances.

If a parent or carer wishes to request an absence for their child, they are required to write to the school by completing the 'Exceptional Circumstances Absence Request Form' which can be requested from the school office.

This should be done before any flights, holiday bookings or other arrangements are made as there is no entitlement to time off in term time. If the request is denied, the school will inform the parent of the reason and the request will be noted. If the child/ren are still removed from school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

Exceptional Circumstances Absence Request Form

Primary Attendance Policy

Nursery School	01568 770333
Primary School	01568 770333
High School	01568 770323