In 2021 - 2022 our average attendance for children of compulsory school age was 91.7%, whereas nationally it was 92.6%. This means our overall attendance was 0.9% below the national average. So this year we are hoping that parents and carers will be supporting us as we are having a big push to improve attendance and punctuality for all the children at St. George's.

Going to school regularly is really important for your child’s future. Parents and carers are required by law to make sure their child receive full-time education. Once your child is registered at a St. George's, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend on a regular basis.  If your child does not attend school on a regular basis you could get fined or be prosecuted in court.

If your child does not want to come to school, talk to them and their teachers.  We will work in partnership with you to solve any problems. 

Regular school attendance 

Good attendance helps your child to build firm and positive friendships with other children and good relationships with their teachers.  Regular attendance at school helps them to learn and make good progress, as their learning journey is continuous and follows a logical sequence.  Good attendance from Nursery upwards builds good habits that will pay dividends as they move through our school and onto middle school, high school and beyond. 

At St. George's we record details of all children’s attendance and absence at school. We must do so at the beginning of morning and afternoon sessions. If your child is absent, you must tell the school why immediately. You can do this by phoning 01527 62263 or emailing: [email protected]

The school will record any absences.  The Local Authority will receive this information for each child. The Department of Education also receives weekly attendance data for the school.

How to prevent your child from missing school

If your child misses too many days of school it means that gaps in their learning start to appear.  This can mean that they start to find their learning too difficult, which can then make them feel like they do not want to come to school - then they start to fall behind.

Missing too many days of school also causes difficulties with forming strong friendships with their classmates because they are missing out on experiences they could share and enjoy together with their friends. When they return to school after missing a few days, their friends have enjoyed so many things together and formed memories that your child has not been part of.  

You can help prevent your child missing school by:

• making sure they understand the importance of good attendance and punctuality
• taking an interest in their education – ask about school work and encourage them to get involved in school activities
• discussing any problems they may have at school and letting their teacher  know about anything serious
• not letting them take time off school for minor ailments – particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work

To avoid disrupting your child’s education, you should arrange appointments and outings:

• after school hours
• at weekends
• during school holidays
• St. George's will not authorise your child going on holiday during term time

Support with school attendance

Problems with regular attendance at school can be caused by many things e.g. medical conditions, bullying, care arrangements for other children/family members, domestic abuse, financial hardship. We love and care deeply for all our children and their families.  As a result we hope everyone in our St. George's family knows that they can talk openly and honestly about any problems or worries they may have and can trust us to do whatever we can to help them. As a staff team we are dedicated and committed to giving the right support at the right time, so that all our children can thrive and flourish.  It takes courage to ask for extra support or help, and we are always ready to listen and will go the extra mile to provide the best help available as quickly as possible.

Where we have ongoing concerns, or parents or carers do not work with us in order to improve their child(ren)'s attendance, we will follow the schools escalated approach to improving attendance (see the flow chart below).  The schools escalated approach is child-centred and prioritises support and developing strong working relationships with families. 

What happens if my child has days off school?

The flow chart below is a summary of our approaches for rewarding good attendance and punctuality and what happens when we start to become concerned about a pupil's attendance.

Further details and information about our strategy for improving attendance and punctuality can be found in our Attendance Policy below.