Why attendance matters

It is important to develop good attendance habits early with children and parents model this when they prioritise school attendance and punctuality.  

Both the school and parents have a legal duty with regards to student attendance so we need to work together.  Communication between the school and parents is vital. Student absence from school for any reason (illness, appointments, leave for exceptional circumstances) will cause your child to miss lessons and it will affect your child’s education so we encourage open and honest communication between parents and the school. Poor attendance and punctuality will be monitored, and we will seek advice and support from our Attendance Officer where necessary. We will liaise with parents/carers and pupils in an effort to support and hopefully improve a child’s attendance. However, in some cases, when all else fails, the school may resort to fixed penalty fines or even prosecution. Under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, ‘The parent/guardian is responsible for ensuring their child receives a full time education.’

Attendance at St Anthony's

At St Anthony's we aim for an attendance rate of 97% or higher.  

An attendance rate of 95% allows for 9.5 days to be missed throughout a school year.

If attendance is 90% or below, this is classified as 'persistent absence' and the school and parents need to work together to improve this.

An attendance rate of 50% or below is classified as 'severe absence'.

By the end of the Summer Term 2023, St Anthony's absence was 97.2%.  Unauthorised absence was 0.5%.

Is my child well enough to attend school?

If your child is unwell, it is essential that you telephone the school office (01489 579100) to report your child's absence and the reason why for every day that your child is off school.

During the winter, with illnesses circulating at high levels, the UK Health Security Agency (UK HSA) advice remains clear that children can continue to attend school as normal unless they are unwell and have a high temperature.  There is no requirement to be absent from school on a precautionary basis and all schools must continue to maintain high expectations for face to face attendance.  To reduce the spread of common viruses, we have CO2 monitors in each classroom and we purge rooms with clean air as often as needed.

For these reasons, we do not provide home learning for children who are unwell unless there is a long-term reason for the child's absence.  Instead, your child should stay at home to recover until they are well enough to return to school.

It can be difficult to decide if your child is well enough to attend school so we suggest the following:

• A child should not attend if he/she has a fever/temperature and is feeling unwell enough that he/she cannot perform his/her normal daily activities.
• If a child has vomited or suffered diarrhea, it is important that they do not return to school until 48 hours after the last episode of sickness/diarrhea.

To help you decide whether your child is well enough for school, please use the link for further advice provided by the NHS: