St Michael's CE Primary

Attendance and Punctuality

 

Our Attendance Target

We know that sometimes our pupils cannot come to school because they are very unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other students. However, skipping school due to other reasons like holidays will result in your child missing valuable parts of their education.

Haringey’s ‘Attendance and Punctuality: A Guide for Parents and Teachers’ clearly states that headteachers are no longer allowed to permit families to take their children out of school for a holiday. Any holiday requests you make during term time will be rejected.  Attendance target for each pupil is 97% and higher. If you fail to comply with this, and your child has persistent absences due to holidays or other unauthorised reasons, we are obligated to issue a Fixed Penalty Fine, or a referral to the Educational Welfare Service. Failure to comply further could result in the fine being increased, or legal action by the Local Authority. 

attendance flowchart.pdf

 

If your child is ill

Please ensure you contact the school to let us know your child will not be in due to illness or GP appointment reasons. Any medical leave exceeding 2 days will require evidence for us to authorise, which could be in the form of a GP letter, appointment card, hospital letter, or medicine prescriptions. Please refer to the chart below to see how long your child should be kept off, and when it is safe for them to return.

 

illness absence.pdf

 

If your child will be absent due to exceptional reasons

If you believe that your child must miss school due to exceptional reasons, you must contact the school or visit our office to inform us of the circumstances prior to the absence, and we will let you know if the absence is permitted.

 

Punctuality

I would also like to remind our carers that children must be at school by 8.40 every day. Consistent lateness causes our students to miss invaluable learning time, especially in the early morning. Pupils must also be picked up at 3.10 every day. If punctuality becomes a persistent issue for any of our pupils, we are again obligated to get the Education Welfare Service involved. If work or other circumstances hinder your ability to bring your child to school on time, Breakfast Club is available from 7.15am every day.