Attendance

School Attendance

 

At Park Hill Infant School, we aim for children to achieve at least 96% attendance for a full school year.

It is a parent/ carer's legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school regularly and punctually. As a school, we have a legal responsibility to advise parents/ carers if their child’s attendance is a concern.

There is a clear link between good attendance and good attainment/progress.  Poor attendance which falls below 93% is proven to impact negatively on a child’s learning.

Persistent Absence which falls below 90% in any half-term may be referred to the Education Welfare Officer and/ or the Local Authority for the consideration of a Penalty Notice.

To report your child’s absence from school, please call the School Office before 09:30am on 020 8680 0747 or email attendance@parkhill-inf.croydon.sch.uk

 

Our Attendance Policy can be accessed by clicking here

Our Attendance Matters leaflet can be accessed by clicking here

Our Request for Leave Form can be downloaded by clicking here

Please click here for a helpful guide on when children can come to school if they have an infection

Please click here for attendance guidance from the Department of Education for parents/ carers

 

We place a high priority on children acquiring a sense of commitment towards regular attendance at school. We work hard to forge and maintain links with external agencies in order to support families and improve attendance for every pupil. Our EWO, Mr Simon Dilley, and our Assistant Business Manager, Mrs Croucher, meet every two weeks to monitor attendance and make contact with families for any pupils whose attendance has fallen below the expected level.

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 Headship Team.  All information received will be held confidentially and we will endeavour to offer support and advice where possible.

Every effort should be made to arrange medical appointments outside school hours. If there is no alternative it is essential that a medical appointment card/letter is brought to the school office.  All children returning to school must be signed in at the school office.

The information below shows how attendance can affect your child’s future progression:

Above 97%: Less than 6 days absence a year

Excellent attendance!  These pupils will almost certainly get the best grades they can, leading to better prospects for the future.  Pupils will also get into a habit of attending school regularly.

95%-96%: Between 7 - 9 days absence a year

These pupils are likely to achieve good grades and form a habit of attending school regularly.

91%-94%: Between 11 and 17 days absence a year

These pupils are at risk of missing a significant amount of learning. If your child’s attendance falls into this category:

  • you may be invited to a meeting with a member of the Headship team to determine if there are any issues preventing your child from attending school regularly

 

  • we may write to you again to request medical evidence to authorise any future absences
Less than 90%: at least 19 days absence a year

The Government classes pupils in this group as “Persistent Absentees”.  Parents of pupils in this group may be referred to the Educational Welfare Officer, and/or may receive a Penalty Notice or legal action taken by the Local Authority.

 

Arrivals and Collections 

Our school gates open at 9:00am. Children need to be in class and ready to learn by 9:10am each day, when the register is called. Punctuality is extremely important, as a child who is late for school misses lesson time and causes disruption for the rest of the class.

If your child is late for school, you need sign them in at the School Office and provide an explanation for their late arrival to school.

Our school day ends at 3.30pm. If you are late collecting your child at the end of the school day, you will need to sign them out at the School Office from 3.40pm onwards. In the event of an emergency and/or the possibility that you will not arrive in time to collect your child, please make alternative arrangements with a friend or relative and then telephone the school so we may explain the new arrangement to your child. Our Pupil Arrival and Collection policy is available on the 'Policies' page.

Improving Attendance

When attendance begins to decline, as a school we may decide to:

  • Continue to monitor future attendance and absence
  • Send out a letter advising you of the decline in your child’s attendance, and inviting you to speak to a member of the Headship Team to determine if there are any issues preventing your child from attending school regularly
  • Write to you requesting medical evidence to authorise any further absences from school
  • Invite you to a meeting in school to discuss your child’s attendance
  • Make a referral to the EWO (Educational Welfare Officer)

 

If a referral is made to the EWO:

  • Our EWO may write to you or phone you to arrange a meeting to further discuss your child’s attendance

 

  • You may be issued with an Attendance Improvement Plan

 

  • You may be referred to the Local Authority for the consideration of a Penalty Notice

 

Under section 444 of the Education Act 1996, the Local Authority may issue Penalty Notices to parents of children with unauthorised absences from school. The fines are issued to each parent, for each child, and are: £60 if paid within 21 days, rising to £120 if paid between 21 and 28 days.

 

Requests for Leave

The Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment) Regulations 2013 make clear that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.   Headteachers should determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted.

 

Exceptional Leave

If you consider that you have exceptional circumstances to request a leave of absence during term time, please complete the leave request form and return 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. We are able to grant one day of leave for Religious Observance. 

 

Holidays in Term Time

There is no automatic entitlement for any child to be granted leave of absence from school for the purpose of a family holiday. It is not acceptable to take your child out of school, during term-time, for occasional or family holidays as they interrupt a child’s learning. We place a high priority on children acquiring a sense of commitment towards regular attendance at school.

Should you decide to take the requested leave, I must warn you that a referral may be sent to the Local Authority for the consideration of a Penalty Notice, as the absences during this period will be recorded as unauthorised.

Under section 444 of the Education Act 1996, the Local Authority may issue Penalty Notices to parents of children with unauthorised absences from school. The fines are issued to each parent, for each child, and are: £60 if paid within 21 days, rising to £120 if paid between 21 and 28 days.

Comparative Data

 

2018-2019 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023
Overall attendance of all compulsory school-aged children 97% 97% 94% 96%
Autumn Term attendance 97% 98% 96% 95%
Spring Term attendance 96% 98% 93% 95%
Summer Term attendance 97% 96% 94% 96%
% of Persistently Absent Pupils (below 90% attendance)  3% 6% 17% 12%

Our overall attendance of all compulsory school-aged for 2022-2023 is 96%. The table below shows how our overall school attendance of all compulsory school-aged children increased last year, compared to four years ago(Pre Covid-19.)

Our percentage of compulsory school-aged children that are classed as Persistently Absent is currently 12%, which is significantly lower than the national average of 17.5% for all school types (Department for Education: Pupil absence in schools in England: Autumn term.)

 

Rewarding Good Attendance

The class with the highest attendance per term is rewarded with a Fun Day. Parents/ Carers of the winning class will be notified by email and text message prior to the date of each Fun Day.