Attendance
Newport Primary School recognises that positive behaviour and good attendance are central to raising standards of pupil attainment. Regular attendance is essential for children to get the most out of their school experience, including their attainment, wellbeing and wider life chances.
For all children to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly and bet at school, on time, every day that the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. Any absence affects the pattern of a child's schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning.
Our Attendance Policy aims to raise and maintain levels of attendance by:
- Promoting a positive and welcoming atmosphere in which children feel safe, secure and valued.
- Raising awareness of the importance of good attendance and punctuality.
- Ensuring that attendance is monitored effectively, in line with Government and Local Authority requirements, and reasons for absences are recorded promptly and consistently.
- Working in partnership with parents/carers so that they are aware of their own child's attendance record and the impact that this is having on their education.
The school's Attendance Policy can be found below and is also available from the School Office as a hardcopy. We are always pleased to support children and their families to ensure regular attendance at school, so if you feel that this is something we can help you with, please let us know.
At Newport Primary School we track attendance on a monthly basis. Our attendance target is 96%. If your child falls below this target then you will receive a letter from school sharing with you your child's attendance. At times there may be valid reasons for attendance e.g. chicken pox, however we feel it is still important to keep you up to date. If children's attendance falls below 96% and there is no obvious reason (bout of significant illness) then you may be asked to come into school for a meeting to discuss what the barriers are to attending school and what we can do to support. Persistent absence is when a child's attendance is 90% or below. Severe absence is when a child's attendance is 50% or below.
What should I do if my child is absent from school?
By law, schools must record absences and the reasons given. You are therefore required to contact the school if your child is absent. At Newport Primary school, we ask that you inform us by completing the sickness absence form by 9:30am if your child will not be attending school due to illness. You are required to do this everyday of the absence.
Report your child's absence – Fill in form
The School Office should be informed in writing of absences known in advance, such as medical appointments. However, we do ask that every endeavour is made to arrange these appointments outside of school hours. We will ask for proof of appointment, such as a copy of a letter that you have recieved or a screenshot. If you wish to request a longer absence, which may or may not be authorised, please complete a Leave of Absence form that can either be found below or can be obtained from the School Office. Please ensure that these form is completed prior to the absence taking place.
Understanding different types of absence
Every half day absence from school has to be classified by the school (not parents) as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why infromation about the reason for absence is required, as it is a legal responsibility that the school has. An authorised absence would be a morning, afternoon or a whole day away from school for a valid and genuine reason such as illness, a medical/dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, as well as emergencies or other unavoidable circumstances. An unauthorised absence are those which upon following Government regulations, are not considered reasonable and for which no 'leave' has been given. This type of absence can lead to the Local Authority using sanctions and/or legal proceedings which include penalty notices and fines.
Unauthorised absences include:
- day trips
- their own or family birthdays
- holidays, including any that have been arranged by another family member of friend as a surprise or other reason
- looking after other children or children accompanying siblings/parents to medical appointments
- shopping trips
- absences without explanation
- truancy before the school day
- children who arrive to school after the register has closed
- parents/carers keeping children off unnecessarily e.g. late night or for a non-infectious illness that would not impact their ability to learn.
Holidays in Term Time
By law children are not automatically allowed to take time off during the term for holidays.
The law specifies that headteachers may not grant nay leave of absence during term time unless there are "exceptional circumstances." The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 state that "the need or desire for a holiday" is not considered an exceptional circumstance.
At Newport Primary School 'exceptional circumstances' will be interprested as:
...being of unique and significant emotional, educational or spiritual vlaue to the child which outweighs the loss of teaching time and cannot be taken outside of term time.
It is important for parents/carers to be aware that while decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, requests will normally be refused.
The Department for Education has introduced a new statutory national framework, that all schools in England must follow.
- There is now a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence, including lateness.
- If a Penalty Notice is issued for an offence of unauthorised absence, the first will attract a fine of up to £160 per pupil, per parent (£80 if paid within 21 days);
- A second offence in three years will attract a fine of £160 per pupil, per parent.
- Schools cannot issue a third penalty notice in 3 years, and must consider other sanctions, which may include prosecution.
Please speak to the school if you need more information about the new rules.