Attendance at Lingham
ATTENDANCE IS EVERYBODY’S RESPONSIBILITY
Attendance Matters
Children have a right to an education and need to attend school regularly to benefit. Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. We want all children to experience success, to work hard, to do their best to achieve their learning targets, behave well and reach their full potential.
At Lingham, we put great emphasis our legal and moral duty to promote good attendance for our children. Good school attendance is essential for optimum progress and achievement. Children who come to school regularly and on time make good progress in their learning. We want all of our children to achieve to the best of their potential and they cannot do this if they are not in school learning every day.
If you have any concerns about your child's enthusiasm for school, their health, friendships or learning support please contact us. We often find that a joint approach can be supportive and beneficial for children and parents. As well as school staff, we can also look for support from our partners in the school nursing service, locality team and other professionals.
We aim for all our children to be in school everyday that we are open. This is 190 days out of 365 days. Children who have good attendance at school flourish socially, emotionally and academically.
Below 90% is a significant concern - this means your child is persistently absent from school. We will arrange a school-based meeting to look at an action plan for improving your child's attendance. Your child's attendance will be monitored daily by our attendance officer.
Persistent Absenteeism
90% attendance or below is classed as PERSISTENT ABSENTEEISM and is a major cause for concern.
What can 90% attendance mean for your child?
90% attendance means that a child misses the equivalent of four whole weeks of lessons in the school year.
90% attendance means that a child is absent from lessons for the equivalent of one half day every week.
Over the course of 5 years, if a child only attends for 90% of each of those years then they will have missed the equivalent of about one half of a school year.
Studies have shown that children who have been persistent absentees in primary school are likely to be persistent absentees in secondary school and go on to do less well in GCSEs. In other words, persistent absenteeism can have a long-term effect on their lives.
If your child’s attendance is falling towards this level you are likely to be asked to come into school to talk to us and see if there are ways we can help you to get them into school regularly. We will probably require medical notes for further absences if they are to be authorised. If attendance does not improve, you may receive a penalty notice and have to pay a fine or face further action.
Absences
You must report your child’s absence by 8.30am via our Compass app.
If we have not heard from you by 9.30am, the school office will contact you by phone and email. If, despite all efforts to contact you, we have no reason for absence, we may conduct a home visit.
This is a safeguarding check.
When making dental or doctor’s appointments, please try and arrange them for out of school or in the afternoon so that there is less impact on their school work. If your child is absent from school because of an appointment, they can only be credited with a ‘medical’ absence if you produce the appointment card/letter. Otherwise it will be categorised as an unauthorised attendance.
Lateness
Arriving at school on time helps everyone have the best possible start to the day. When children are punctual, they can enjoy breakfast with friends, settle into important morning activities, and take part in a soft, calm start that eases them into learning. Morning routines are especially important for young learners as they build confidence, independence, and a sense of security. Being on time also means the whole class can begin together without interruptions, creating a calm, focused environment where everyone is ready to learn and thrive.
Between 8:40am - 8:55am children may enter school through their own classroom or designated doors.
At 8:55am all external doors and gates are closed. Children arriving after this time should report directly to the main office where their parent/responsible adult must sign them in.
Children arriving up to 9.30am will be given a late mark.
Registers are taken by 9:00am.
Children arriving after 9.30am will be marked as present and given a 'late after registers closed' code (U). This code is classed as an unauthorised absence which will affect the child's overall attendance level.
In addition to entering the ‘L’ and ‘U’ codes, office staff record the number of minutes late for each pupil, on each occasion. This facility allows school staff to monitor and manage developing patterns of lateness more effectively and make a clear link between lateness and missed learning time; and share such information with parents.
Lingham Primary School values all pupils and we are committed to working with families to identify the reasons for poor attendance and try to resolve any difficulties.