Attendance and Punctuality
Why is it important for children to attend school?
Pupils at Gleadless who have good attendance at school:
- have more opportunities to make friends and feel happy in their social group
- enjoy being at school and experience it as a familiar and happy place to be
- learn more!
- make more progress and are more likely reach age related expectations
- are more likely to enjoy their secondary school experience
- are more likely to have developed a habit of good attendance for their adult and working lives
This is our whole staff team's vision for our school and our pupils:
Gleadless is a caring school where we love learning and always aim high.
We develop respectful, safe and inclusive relationships with each other and our community.
Our school prepares children for success, enabling them to make aspirational choices for themselves and positive contributions to the wider world.
When children are at school every day, this vision can become a reality for them. It is much harder for children to feel happy at school and develop a sense of belonging if their attendance is not 96% or above.
Find out more about what life is like at at our school: Gleadless: An Introduction for Families
How do I let school know my child is absent?
Parents must ring school before registration if their child is unable to attend school. If the line is busy, parents should leave a message saying the name of their child and why they are absent. This phone call is required on every day of a child's absence. Parents should not use dojo messages to inform the school that their child is absent. Staff will record all information which will be passed on to relevant individuals.
Authorised absences may include:
- Illness or medical appointments
- Days of religious observance
- Exceptional family circumstances
Unauthorised absence
- An unauthorised absence indicates that a child is not in school and doesn’t have an authorised attendance mark.
- An unauthorised absence means that the reason for absence has not been authorised by the school.
- Someone from the attendance team will speak to parents/carers by phone or in person to establish why a child has been absent.
- Reasons must be obtained for absence.
Morning Registration Procedure
- Our school gates open at 8:30am. They are closed at 8:40am.
- Morning registration is at 8.40am
- A child will receive a late mark if they arrive after 8:45s
- Registers in class close at 8:50am
- Any child arriving after the gates close at 8:40am will report to the office
- If a child arrives after 9.30am the child receives a U mark on the register, unless there is an acceptable reason for their absent i.e. medical appointment with evidence of the appointment
Lateness
- If late, children or parents should report to the school office, where the child’s name, time of arrival and reason for lateness will be noted in the office attendance book by admin staff
- After reporting late, children will be taken to their class
- The school monitors lateness and will liaise with the parents of children who are frequently late.They will be offered support to get their child to school on time i.e. offer of early morning phone calls.
Strategies to improve attendance
- At Gleadless, we promote good attendance through building strong relationships with our children and families and ensuring school is a safe and happy place for children to be.
- The school will contact parents of children whose attendance has improved to celebrate improvements
- Ensure, in school newsletters, that there are reminders about the dates of holidays, expectations etc, keeping attendance and punctuality high profile
- Discuss the Attendance Policy with new families
- Inform Governors in the Head Teacher’s report the attendance target and termly attendance rates for each class/year group
- Discuss attendance with parents and carers at Parents’ Evenings and if there is a significant change in a child’s attendance or punctuality
Holidays taken in term time.
In line with government and council policy, we do not authorise holidays taken in term unless there are extenuating circumstances which must be discussed with the Headteacher or School Attendance Officer. Sheffield City Council will issue fines in line with policy where unauthorised holidays are taken. To avoid this, we ask for holidays to be taken in the 13 weeks out of term time.
Our School Attendance Policy
We have a school attendance policy which outlines all aspects of our approach to supporting good attendance at Gleadless.