Attendance and Punctuality

At Newsham First School we place great importance on good attendance and punctuality. Poor attendance disadvantages children. We aim to ensure that the children in our school attend regularly and on time.

Our overall attendance figure for 2004-05 was 92.7%. In 2005-06 we achieved a figure of 93.3%. We are constantly seeking to improve our attendance figures and regularly run attendance weeks with our Education Welfare Officer, Ros Bilton.

Miss Donna Jones is our school’s Inclusion Mentor; she is responsible for recording all absences and contacting parents if their children are not in school. We ask parents to contact the school as soon as possible should their child be absent from school for any reason –this allows us to record the absence as ‘authorised’.

We strongly urge parents to avoid booking holidays during term time. If you do wish to take your child out of school for a holiday it is essential that you complete a holiday absence request form which are available in the main school entrance area. We are only able to grant leave of absence for up to 10 days in any school year; this is at the Head Teachers discretion. Before granting holidays the school will also consider any additional absences during the school year. Holidays during April and May will not be authorised as these are critical months for assessing pupils’ progress.

Children’s attendance is reported in their end of school year report. Rewards are given to children whose attendance is deemed ‘excellent’.

Punctuality

It is important for children to start the school day in a calm and settled way by arriving in time for registration and the start of the first lesson. Our school doors open at 8.45am following an automatic bell. Children are not supervised in the yard before this time. The doors close again at 8.55am—this allows a 10 minute slot in which to arrive at school. Any children arriving after 8.55am should be brought to the main school entrance. A register of punctuality is kept in the main school office.

How can you help?

There are a few simple things that you can do to help us improve attendance and punctuality at Newsham First School:

• Try to make appointments and book holidays out of school time
• Let the school know as soon as possible why your child is absent
• Do not allow your child to have time off school unless it is absolutely necessary
• Ensure your child arrives at school on time each morning

Raising levels of attendance and punctuality will inevitably raise standards of attainment.