At St Issey C of E Primary School, good attendance matters. Children who attend regularly are more likely to keep up with learning, build friendships and feel settled in school.

We know most families work hard to get their children into school every day and on time, and we are grateful for that support.

Our aim is for every child to attend school at least 96% of the time. If attendance falls below 95%, we may contact you to discuss the pattern of absence and any support that may help. Attendance below 90% is classed as persistent absence.

Reporting absence

If your child is unwell and cannot attend school, please contact the school office as early as possible on the first day of absence, ideally before 8:45 am, by calling 01841 540232.

Please give a clear reason for the absence. If your child is absent for more than one day, we ask that you contact us each day unless we have agreed something different with you.

Supporting attendance

If attendance becomes a concern, we will work with you to understand the reason and offer support where we can. This may include:

• a phone call or meeting

• an agreed attendance plan

• support from school staff

• reasonable adjustments for children who are finding attendance difficult

We aim to work in partnership with families to remove barriers and help children attend regularly and confidently.

Term-time leave

We understand that family time matters. For the past three years, we have structured our school calendar to include a two-week break in October. This gives families more opportunity to plan time away during the school holidays, without children missing lessons.

Because of this, we expect family holidays to be taken during the published school holiday periods.

Leave of absence during term time will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Family holidays during term time are not exceptional circumstances and will normally be recorded as unauthorised absence.

Schools must consider a penalty notice when a child has 10 unauthorised sessions of absence within a rolling 10 school weeks. This can include term-time holidays.

Lateness

Being on time matters. Arriving late means children can miss key learning and the start of the school day.

If your child is regularly late, we will contact you to discuss the issue and offer support.

Working with families

If attendance does not improve, or if there is an unauthorised absence, the school may refer the matter to the Local Authority. This may lead to a penalty notice or other legal action in line with national and local guidance.