Attendance
School Attendance Statement
Our school aims to meet its obligations with regard to school attendance by promoting good attendance; ensuring every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled; and acting early to address patterns of absence.
- Regular attendance is a legal requirement and regular attendance is an opportunity for parents/carers to demonstrate their responsibility and commitment to the education of their child.
- We want all our pupils to enjoy school and grow up to become emotionally resilient, confident and competent adults who are able to realise their full potential
- Every child deserves the opportunity to experience the rich St Andrew’s curriculum, with its contribution to the pupil’s moral, spiritual, cultural, mental and social development.
We believe that one of the most important factors in promoting good attendance is the development of positive attitudes towards school. To this end, we strive to make our school a happy and rewarding experience for all children, and to foster positive and mutually respectful relationships with parents/carers.
By promoting good attendance and punctuality we aim to:
- Make good attendance and punctuality a priority for all those involved in the school community.
- Raise our pupils’ awareness of the importance of good attendance and punctuality.
- Provide support, advice and guidelines to parents/carers, pupils and staff.
- Work in partnership with parents/carers to support good attendance
Education law defines parents as: all natural parents, whether they are married or not; any person who has parental responsibility for a child or young person; and any person who has care of a child or young person i.e. lives with and looks after the child. In this policy the term ‘parent’ includes parents and carers.
Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring their child attends school regularly and punctually. Parents/carers must contact the school and report absence by 9:15am on the first day and continue to do so in line with the school’s policy.
Safeguarding and Attendance:
Our school will monitor trends and patterns of absence for all pupils as a part of our standard procedures. However, we are aware that sudden or gradual changes in a pupil’s attendance may indicate additional or more extreme safeguarding issues. In line with government guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education (2021 version, or as updated by the DfE) we will investigate and report any suspected safeguarding cases on to the relevant authorities. As part of our safeguarding duty and our standard procedures, we will inform the Local Authority and/or the Police of the details of any pupil who is absent from school when the school cannot establish their whereabouts and is concerned for the pupil’s welfare.
School Attendance Policy:
St Andrew’s Church School Attendance Policy is available here: