Why is attendance important?

Ravenswood CP School is committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all of its pupils and recognises that this can only be achieved by supporting and promoting excellent school attendance for all. There is clear evidence that attendance at school links to high levels of attainment and we firmly believe that children will only be able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them if they attend school on a daily basis during term time.

The school doors are open from 8.35am - 8.45am. Any child who arrives after this time (between 8.45 - 8.55am) will have to enter via the main office and issued with a late mark (L) in the register. Arriving after the closing of our registers (8.55am) will be classed as an unauthorised late and entered as a U in our registers.

Whilst we understand that there are always exceptional circumstances which will affect a child's attendance, we work closely with our parents and carers to encourage 100% attendance and ensure holidays are not taken in school time, in order that our children have the very best opportunity to succeed.

Each term, we are required to submit attendance data for our school to the Lead Attendance Officer for Suffolk County Council. Any child whose attendance is considered too low (under 97% or with 3 late marks or more in a half term) or who has been persistently absent over a number of weeks is identified and will be monitored by the Local Authority Attendance Officer. Individual attendance figures will be discussed with parents if they are a cause for concern and, if required, we may ask the Educational Welfare Officer to further investigate reasons for absence and to ask for medical evidence.

Sickness & Diarrhoea

Please note if your child has been physically sick and/ or suffered with diarrhoea, we ask children to refrain from school for 48 hours to avoid the spread of bugs. If your child has only been sick once and you are certain this is not a bug, (e.g. it is not coupled with any other symptoms) please contact the school and speak with our administrative staff who will confirm if your child can return back to school any earlier.

This is a more 'case by case' approach designed to take into account those children that may have vomited due to other reasons, (e.g. reflux, exerted themselves too much, ate too much birthday cake etc.) These are all reasons given within the last few terms and we have allowed these pupils to return to school he next day.

Please click on the below link for the Public Health Agency's latest list of common illnesses and their recommended period your child should refrain from school.

Attendance Matters

As we look at how well children are making progress and achieving in their learning we have been struck once again by how much attendance impacts upon this. We have had a relatively mild winter yet we have seen some poor attendance figures for individual children. As parents many of the staff understand that it is not always easy to make that judgement as to whether a child should be in school and, of course, we would not want them here if they are ill; but there appears to be no reason why our attendance should be lower than any other school.

Each and every child in our school deserves to have the best education but we can only deliver it if they are here.

Please encourage your child to understand that attendance matters.

Are you interested in reading more about school attendance?

Take a look at the below links for some general reports and websites on attendance.

Suffolk County Council School Attendance page

General reminders

If you are considering a holiday in this school year, please remember to complete an 'Absence Request' form so we are aware...this will save a welfare call at your door! Although family holidays are only authorised in exceptional circumstances, we need to be aware of the reasons for absence prior to your holiday.

Please note the school may issue a fixed penalty notice for unauthorised absence once your child has missed 8 sessions or more days of school in a school year.

To those parents/ carers of pupils who have isolated, minor ailments and consider taking a day off, please consider giving them some appropriate medication and bringing them into school - we can always send your child home if they start to feel worse. Furthermore, if your child is ill in the morning, but improves as the morning progresses, please consider bringing them in for the afternoon session.

If you have a routine medical appointment due, please arrange them out of school hours or towards the end of the day if possible - this means your child will not be missing the most productive part of the day.

If you are not sure of our term dates, please visit our website, where you can see our term dates on the calendar, or you can print out a table by visiting the ‘Virtual Office’ page and clicking on ‘School term and holiday dates’. There are also reminders in our newsletter and via Parent Mail.

What do the percentages mean?

Attendance / absence is presented as a percentage figure, but it's helpful to equate this to number of days off:

98% = fewer than four days absent in a school year

95% = fewer than ten days absent in one school year

90% = 4 weeks absent in one school year (equates to a ½ day each week)

85% = 5.5 weeks absent in one school year (approaching a whole half-term in the school year)

80% = 7.5 weeks absent in one school year (equates to 1 day each week or a whole half-term in one year)

This means that if a child has between 80 and 85% attendance they will be absent over one complete academic year during their time in primary school. The impact of this on a child's learning is obvious.

Punctuality

We worked hard last year to decrease the numbers of pupils arriving late. Arriving in good time in the morning allows your child to catch up with friends before school, they settle easier into the morning than those who are late, they don't miss any important messages relayed in the morning, and it puts them in good stead for a lifelong understanding of the importance of good punctuality.

Whilst the weather plays a factor, there is no reason for your child to be late on more than a couple of occasions in any half term. Planning ahead, such as looking at the weather forecast for the next day and having the winter attire ready, or taking road works into account when leaving your house, are reasonable requests, all skills our children will need to employ when getting themselves to work later on in life.

Please let the school know if you are going to be late so we can make the teacher aware. It will also save a phone call asking for your reason for absence.

We will continue to ask parents in for a meeting if your child is late on 3 or more occasions to see if the school can help you to improve your child's punctuality. We take individual circumstances into account, which is why you will be asked why you are late in the morning.