Attendance

Good attendance is directly related to a child’s enjoyment and achievement at school and is vital to promote successful learning.

We strive to provide a welcoming and caring environment where all members of our school community feel wanted and secure.

All staff take responsibility for welcoming pupils into school and into the classroom every day.

Persistent or long-term absence has a negative impact on all areas of school life, not just academic achievement but also on the development of key skills and friendships. Interrupted attendance makes teaching and learning difficult for all pupils and can limit pupil achievements. At Christ Church, we place a high value on maintaining high levels of attendance. We work closely with parents and carers to make this happen for every pupil.

It is really important that your child attends school regularly and it is vital that we work together to ensure that your child arrives on time, every day.

If your child has an appointment to attend during school time e.g. doctor, dentist, we will now need proof (a letter or text confirming the appointment) when you collect your child. Otherwise, this will be put down as an unauthorised absence on your child’s record.

If your child’s attendance goes below 90%, we do have to report this to the Educational Welfare Officer and you could receive a fine.

From August 2024, a new national threshold for issuing penalty notices was implemented, meaning that a fine will be issued if a child has 5 school days or more (10 sessions) of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks.

If, however, in an individual case the local authority believes a penalty notice would be appropriate, they retain the discretion to issue one before the threshold is met. For example, if parents/carers are seen to deliberately avoid the national threshold by taking several term time holidays below the threshold of 5 school days, or for repeated absence for birthdays or other family events.

As a Staffordshire school, we are legally required to send Staffordshire County Council any applications of unauthorised absence that we receive into school which exceed the threshold stated above. We ask that you understand that it is not a school decision whether or not to fine parents. This is the responsibility of Staffordshire County Council.

 As of 19th August 2024, if a child has 5 school days or more (10 sessions) of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks the penalty notice will consist of:

– £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, rising to

– £160 per parent, per child if paid between 21-28 days

**If the fine is not paid within 28 days, you may be prosecuted under S444.1 of the Education Act 1996. If the prosecution takes place, the maximum fine is £2500 per parent, per child. This reflects the seriousness of unauthorised absence from school**

Two penalty notice limit and escalation in cases of repeat offences:

Only two penalty notices can be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within a 3-year rolling period and any second notice within that period is charged at a higher rate. A second penalty notice issued to the same parent in respect of the same pupil is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days. A third penalty notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of issue of the first. In a case where the national threshold is met for a third time (or subsequent times) within those 3 years, alternative action should be taken instead. This will often include considering prosecution.

Medical appointments:

Every effort should be made to arrange medical appointments outside of school hours.  If it is necessary for your child to be out of school for this reason, then the amount of time should be minimal and medical proof should be provided. So that your child doesn’t miss out on their learning, we suggest that they attend school either before or after their appointment if appropriate.

Illness:
We are aware that illness can happen and that children might need time to recover. The school office should be informed before 8.30am on the first day of your child’s absence due to illness and then each morning (before 8.30am) until they return back to school.  For children whose attendance becomes of concern because of the amount of illness/medical appointments etc, then school will write advising the Parents/Carers that the Head Teacher will no longer authorise any such absences unless supported by medical evidence.

Holidays and leaves of absence:

Holidays or other reasons for leave of absences in term time will not be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances. Parents are asked to complete a leave of absence form to inform school that they wish to take their child out of school during time.

Unauthorised absences:

If your child has multiple unauthorised absences, then a referral will be made to the Education Welfare Officer (EWO). Unauthorised absences may result in parents/carers being issued with a fine. If you have any questions or concerns regarding attendance, please contact the school office.