The school has high expectations in relation to children's attendance. This is because, for children to receive a wide education and achieve their full potential, they must be at school regularly and on time. Government research shows that there is a strong link between regular school attendance and academic achievement. The Government advise that an attendance rate of less than 95%, in one academic year, will have detrimental effect on a child's education. One week off school will affect your child's attendance by 2.64%. It is the school's expectation that children will have an attendance rate in excess of 95%. Each child's attendance is reviewed on a regular basis. Please contact school if you would like to discuss any problems that could be preventing your child attending school – enquiries@th.keystonemat.org
If your child's attendance is causing concern, you will receive a telephone call and/or attendance letters including the summary of your child's attendance. If there is not an improvement in your child's attendance, you will be invited to attend a School Attendance Panel Meeting to explore ways we can support you to improve your child's attendance moving forwards. We do understand that children occasionally get ill but we ask that you do your best to encourage them into school and work with us if there is an issue or a longer-term illness. Children who miss school regularly can very quickly fall behind and begin to find keeping up with their work difficult.
If you have any worries at all about attendance, please do come and speak to us, or click on the following link for advice from the NHS Is my child too ill for school?
General Absence
Please contact the school via email enquiries@th.keystonemat.org or on 01778 423311 and speak with the office staff before 8:45 am stating the exact reason for absence e.g. cold/cough, sickness etc. If you have to leave a message, please be specific about the reason for your child's absence. If the reason given is vague, the office team will call you to clarify the exact circumstances of your child's absence.
The school is very aware that some children have medical or personal circumstances which negatively impact on attendance on a long-term basis which will also have lowered their attendance percentage. The school is required to provide the Local Authority with evidence to show how we are supporting families where a child's attendance is below 95%.
Safeguarding
We ask that parents and carers make contact with us daily before 8:45am so we are aware of ALL children's whereabouts. In the event we haven't heard from the parent or carer, we will always try and make contact with you. If we have not heard from a parent regarding a child’s absence and we have not been able to make contact then our team will visit the family home to establish the reason for not attending school and to check that the child is safe.
Lateness & Punctuality
This is a serious concern as children who arrive at school late miss the vital teaching that begins the lesson and then often struggle to grasp what is being taught. When a child arrives late for school, they can find this very unsettling as it is not a good way to start their day. Where lateness is a recurring problem, the child’s education will suffer.
Please note that:
Our gates are open from 8.35am.
Registration takes place at 8.45am.
Children are marked late if they arrive after 8.45am. In this instance, they must go to the main entrance at the front of the school as the other entrances/gates will not be open.
Please make every effort to ensure that your child arrives in good time for the start of school to enable us to provide them with the best education possible.
Illness
The school accepts that from time-to-time children become ill and are unable to attend school. In these situations, we ask parents to call the school office on a daily basis with an update on your child’s condition and, if possible, give an indication as to when you think your child will return to school. For minor illnesses such as coughs and colds, we encourage children to be brought to school.
Medical appointments
The school expects, where possible, that medical appointments should be scheduled for after school hours or to take place during school holidays. Medical appointments will only be authorised if an appointment card or letter is seen by the school office. In the case of an emergency appointment, an appointment card should be obtained during the appointment and given to the school upon the child’s return.
Holidays
From the 1st September 2013, changes were made to the law which relates to parents and carers taking their children on holiday during term time. The change in legislation indicates that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless they consider there to be exceptional circumstances. The amendment in the law removed all references to family holidays.
The Trust will no longer be granting parents and carers time off to take their children on holiday.
If you consider there are exceptional circumstances to support taking your child out of school a Request for Leave form should be completed and handed in at the school