Attendance and Punctuality 

The Importance of Good School Attendance and Punctuality

Research shows that good school attendance impacts upon children’s success in learning. Good attendance helps children to achieve good results, helps them to fulfil their potential and gives them a chance of a better future. At Fryent, we are committed to ensuring that each and every child in our school fulfils their potential. To help us achieve this we want all of our children to have the best possible attendance.

Mainstream- The school day has a soft start where where pupils can arrive between 8:35-8:45am. Any arrival after this time will be marked down as 'Late'. The school day finishes at 3:15pm.  This means there are a total of 33.5 hours in the school week.

Opal- Transport arrives at 9:20am. The school day starts at 9:30am and finishes at 3:30pm. 

This year we want to see all our pupils with a minimum of 96% attendance!

Every day that your child is absent from school is an opportunity missed. Schools and parents / carers have a shared responsibility to ensure that children attend school regularly and on time.

We have two very special attendance incentives running this academic year to promote perfect attendance, team work and collaboration. The first is aimed at each individual pupil, where they can be awarded a perfect attendance wristband each term, this then amounts to other exciting rewards (please see below). The second incentive is a non-uniform day each Friday for classes who get 98%+ attendance!

Punctuality is also just as important as attendance. Our school gates open at 8:35am every morning and close at 8:45am. Your child will be registered as ‘late’ (L) anytime past 8:45am. If your child arrives after 9:15am they will be registered as 'late after register closed' (U code)- this will be an unauthorised mark. It is important that children arrive in school on time as it supports them to learn good timekeeping and also reduces classroom disruption for the other children and themselves.

Every minute counts!
The table below illustrates how being just a few minutes late can have a detrimental effect to your child’s learning and shows figures over the course of a year.

Parental support is critical in ensuring that children achieve in education. At Fryent we work closely with families to support them to achieve the best possible outcomes for their children.

A day off here and there adds up!

What can parents / carers do to help?

1. Ensure your child attends school every day and on time.
2. If your child is not well enough to attend, contact the school or respond to the absence text on the first day of absence.
3. Try to make dental and medical appointments outside of school time or at weekends.
4. Take family holidays during the school holiday. We are unable to authorize term-time holidays.
5. Contact us immediately if you need help or support with your child’s attendance or punctuality.
 

Let’s work together to achieve consistently high attendance and punctuality.

There are only 190 school days in a year; we want to see every child at school every day because every school day counts!

At Fryent we...

Expect

Aspire to high standards of attendance from all pupils and parents and build a culture
where all can, and want to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising attendance
improvement across the school.

Monitor

Rigorously use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance (at individual and
cohort level) as soon as possible so we can work together to resolve them before
they become entrenched.

Listen and understand

When a pattern is spotted, we discuss with pupils and parents to listen to and understand
barriers to attendance and agree how all partners can work together to resolve them.

Facilitate support

Remove barriers in school and help pupils and parents to access the support they need to
overcome the barriers outside of school. This might include an early help or whole family
plan where absence is a symptom of wider issues.

Formalise support

Where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with,
we work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is
also in place to enable families to respond. Depending on the circumstances, this may
include formalising support through an attendance contract or education supervision order.

Enforce

Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being
engaged with, we enforce attendance through statutory intervention: a penalty notice in line
with the National Framework or prosecution to protect the pupil’s right to an education.

Attendance - Leave of Absence
Please note the information below - school absence fines have increased and the law has changed (August 2024).

REQUEST FOR PUPIL ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL –
The Law - The new legislation does not give any entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time. Any application for leave of absence must be in exceptional circumstances and the Head Teacher must be satisfied that the circumstances warrant the granting of leave of absence. Parents can be fined by the Local Authority for taking their child on holiday during term time without consent from the school.
From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. This rate is in line with inflation and is the first increase since 2012. Fines are per parent/carer per child.

In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160. Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action like a parenting order or prosecution will be considered. If you’re prosecuted and attend court because your child hasn’t been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500. Failure to make payment will result in the local authority taking legal action for failure to ensure regular attendance at school under Section 444 (1) Education Act 1996.

Any request for leave of absence must be presented to the Headteacher on the Pupil Absence Request Form. The application form must be completed by the parent / carer with whom the student normally resides. Once a decision has been made, you will receive a letter to say whether the leave has been approved or not.

Parents/Carers- Let's work together to improve school attendance (August 2024).

Here is some guidance for you...