Attendance
Here at Southwater Junior Academy, we pride ourselves on the fact that more than 90% of pupils are happy in school and attend school regularly (taken from pupil survey and attendance records).
Attendance Target
We define regular attendance as being at school for 97% of the time because we believe that regular and consistent school attendance is of great importance for your child’s continuing achievement and friendships in school. Under the law, the school has a duty to ensure that all of our pupils attend school regularly. Regular school attendance is important in giving your child the best possible start in life. Children who have high attendance rates are more likely to enjoy school, have secure friendships and go on to achieve well. There are 190 school days in the academic year which leaves 175 days (weekends and holidays) for holidays and days out.
Unfortunately, attendance below 90% can lead to children achieving less well than their regularly attending peers and experiencing problems with developing social skills.
Unfortunately, attendance below 90% can lead to children achieving less well than their regularly attending peers and experiencing problems with developing social skills.
- 97% attendance is equivalent to 5 days off across the whole academic year.
- 90% attendance is the equivalent to 20 days off in just one school year.
- 80% attendance is the equivalent to 1 day off a week.
When is absence unauthorised?
Unauthorised absences are when a pupil has been marked in the school attendance register as being absent from school without authority. It is only a Headteacher who can authorise absence for any reason from school.
This includes:
The Government has directed that Headteachers may only grant leave for a holiday in term-time where there are exceptional circumstances. West Sussex County Council may issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) if a pupil has accrued unauthorised absence of 10 sessions in 10 weeks.
Additionally, we monitor punctuality carefully as it is more challenging for late arrivals to settle calmly in to their learning. In order to find out some of the barriers to attending school punctually, we ask children to provide a reason for their lateness on arrival at the school office. If you are concerned about ongoing lateness for your child, please contact their class teacher in the first instance to discuss what sort of support strategies we can put in place.
This includes:
- any absence marked in the register as unauthorised
- persistent late arrival at school after the register has been taken
- a holiday in term-time, which has not been authorised by the Headteacher
The Government has directed that Headteachers may only grant leave for a holiday in term-time where there are exceptional circumstances. West Sussex County Council may issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) if a pupil has accrued unauthorised absence of 10 sessions in 10 weeks.
Additionally, we monitor punctuality carefully as it is more challenging for late arrivals to settle calmly in to their learning. In order to find out some of the barriers to attending school punctually, we ask children to provide a reason for their lateness on arrival at the school office. If you are concerned about ongoing lateness for your child, please contact their class teacher in the first instance to discuss what sort of support strategies we can put in place.
How do we inform you of your child's attendance?
In order to make our attendance systems clear, we have produced a concise table of attendance information for reference. This helps to explain what our systems are at each stage of the process. At each point on the attendance ladder where attendance is a concern, we offer support strategies to help improve attendance percentages and we also monitor each case closely to look for improvements over subsequent weeks and months.
Where there are ongoing medical concerns or investigations, related absences can be logged as medical. If this is the case for your child, please provide any relevant paperwork to the school office for us to hold on file. This will avoid attendance concern letters being sent home.
What can the school do to support your child with attendance?
Support strategies can include meeting a buddy once in school, building a positive celebration book and one to one time with a learning mentor to reduce any potential barriers that may exist. There are many other strategies that can be used and personalised for each individual. If you would like further information, please contact your child’s class teacher or book an appointment to see Mrs Brown.
If you require an absence request form, please click here.
