Attendance at all school sessions is required by law, and a key factor in raising educational standards. Attendance is a key focus for our school. 100% is the expected attendance at school; 95% is the minimum acceptable.
In order to improve attendance and punctuality, and to raise pupils’ attainment, the school is taking a new approach to addressing absence and persistent absence.
Persistent absence and poor punctuality affects your child’s achievements and opportunities now and in the future (see Appendix 1, in the Attendance Policy below )
We aim to:
- Support parents to achieve better attendance for their children
- Support children to achieve well following absence
- Prevent future absence once a child has returned to school
Where attendance does not improve, referrals will be made to the Education Welfare Officer (EWO). The EWO is an officer of Surrey County Council with a statutory duty to enforce good attendance. Fixed penalty notices (fines) can be issued if persistent absence continues or if more than four consecutive unauthorised absence occurs. The school will also be running Attendance Awareness courses to which parents of persistent absentees will be invited. Co-operation in attending an Attendance Awareness course will enable you to avoid having to pay a fixed penalty notice.
We love having your children in school and so we make time every week to celebrate attendance in Collective Worship (assembly). We share class attendance figures with the children, give out stickers and certificates for 100% attendance and the class with the higehst attendance percentage that week receive our 'Attendance Ted' bear to stay in their classroom for the week.
We look forward to seeing an improvement in attendance.
If your child is ill:
It is essential that you contact the school before 8.50 am on the day your child is legitimately absent. Please call the School Office, telephone number 01737 762080 to speak to a member of staff or leave a voice mail message at any time. Alternatively, you can send us an email, or an 'In-App message' via Arbor Parent Portal or App.
Please inform the school if your child contracts an infectious or contagious disease; these include head-lice infestation, an occasional problem in school which can spread rapidly through classes unless treated, chicken pox, mumps and German measles (rubella), which can have serious implications for staff.
If your child is ill during the school day they will be taken to the School Office, where they will be seen by a member of staff. A decision will then be taken whether or not to contact parents or carers. Please ensure we are updated with any changes to your/your emergency contact's phone numbers.
Please click on the headings below to find out further information about attendance, punctuality and medicines:
Children are required to attend school on time.
Registration starts at 8.50am prompt and closes at 9.00am. Afternoon registration starts at 1.00pm for KS1 and 1.15pm for KS2 pupils.
Pupils who are late disrupt their own education and that of others. Recurrent patterns of lateness or persistent lateness can be construed as non-attendance and may warrant intervention by the of Children, Families and Learning Support Worker and/or Education Welfare Officer. Parents/carers have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child arrives on time for school and have a responsibility to their children to ensure they get the best start to a school day by at least being on time.
St Matthew’s Primary School actively discourages lateness and will monitor patterns of recurrent lateness which could provide grounds for prosecution. All late pupils arriving after close of registers (and their parents, if parents are bringing their children to school) must report to the office to complete the late book. The time of arrival and a reason for the lateness will be recorded.
Request for Leave of Absence during term time must be made in advance (14 days notice where possible). Requests must be made to the Headteacher using the Leave of Absence due to Exceptional Circumstances form.
St Matthew’s Primary School will not authorise leave of absence for holidays during term time. Parents/carers do not have this right therefore holidays must be taken during school holiday periods.
The Headteacher can only give permission for term time leave in exceptional circumstances.
Please note that in exceptional circumstances, where a request is made and is authorised, it will only be on the understanding that the following evidence may be requested and, where requested, is provided:
- Any required trip abroad – proof of flight details, including a proposed date of return. If flights have to be changed by an airline which directly affect the return date, then proof of this will also be required.
A request for term time leave should be made using the request form to the Headteacher 14 days prior to the intended absence and a decision will be made based on individual circumstances. (The request form can be collected from the school office.) St Matthew’s Primary School will not authorise any exceptional leave in the month of May as this is a crucial time for school examinations.
Failure to notify St Matthew’s Primary School of a reason for absence will result in the matter being passed to the Education Welfare Officer which may lead to a request for a fixed penalty notice of £60.00 per parent/carer per child
Fixed penalty notices will be issued where more than four consecutive days unauthorised absence has occurred and parents have refused to attend the school’s Attendance Awareness Course.
Any child arriving at school after their gate has closed will have missed the morning registration mark and must be signed in by their parent or carer at the school office using the touch screen.
Should a child have to leave school during school hours for an emergency or unavoidable medical appointment, parents must inform the school office or class teacher.
Children leaving school during the school day must be signed out at the school office by their parent or carer, using the touch screen.
Parents and carers are asked most earnestly not to arrange these during school sessions, except in cases of urgency. An absence from school impacts on your child's learning.
If a child does have to attend an appointment, they should ordinarily be in school before and after the appointment.
The school can only administer medication that has been prescribed by a doctor. If your child requires medication when they are in school please complete a form for parental agreement for school to administer medicine.
All medicine must be clearly named and given into the school office by the parent or carer.
Children with ongoing medical needs will have a care plan put in place.
