Attendance
Why is attendance so 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 at 8.35am. Any child who arrives after this time (between 8.35–9.05am) 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 (9.05am) will be classed as an unauthorised late and entered as a U in our registers.
Our improving picture...
Thank you for continuing to work with us and prioritising your childs attendace. This is the strong start to the academic year we have seen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our attendance offer...
At Ravenswood, we understand that there are sometimes exceptional circumstances that can affect a child's attendance. We are committed to working closely with parents and carers, building strong relationships based on trust, communication and mutual support to help every child attend regularly and achieve their full potential.
Through our range of attendance support strategies, early intervention and ongoing guidance, we aim to remove barriers to attendance wherever possible while continuing to promote the importance of excellent attendance. We also ask families to avoid taking holidays during term time so that children can make the most of every learning opportunity.
Each term, schools are required to submit attendance information to the Lead Attendance Officer at Suffolk County Council. As part of our attendance procedures, we carefully monitor attendance and punctuality to identify any children who may benefit from additional support. This includes pupils whose attendance falls below 97% or who have accumulated three or more late marks within a half term. Where attendance becomes a concern, we will always seek to work in partnership with families first, discussing any challenges and offering appropriate support. In some cases, further monitoring may be undertaken by the Local Authority Attendance Officer and, where necessary, the Educational Welfare Officer may become involved to help identify barriers to attendance, request relevant evidence and ensure that the right support is in place for the child and family.
The importance of great attendance from the very beginning...
Every school day counts toward setting your child up for a happy, confident, and successful journey—whether they are taking their very first steps in Nursery and Reception or settling into a new year group. Building strong attendance habits right from day one helps children establish reassuring routines, make lasting friendships, and master essential learning step-by-step without leaving gaps. Daily presence builds both academic success and social confidence, creating a strong sense of belonging within our school family. We are proud to partner with you to support your child’s attendance, and if you ever face challenges or need guidance getting them to school, our team is always here to help.
Sickness and 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 the next day.
Please click on the below links for the Public Health Agency's latest list of common illnesses and their recommended period your child should refrain from school.
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, or have 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 Term Dates and Opening Hours page, where you can see our term dates on the calendar. There are also reminders in our newsletter and via Parent Mail.
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 is 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.
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 is very important: it 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. These are all skills our children will need to employ when getting themselves to school and 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.
Punctuality
We worked hard last year to decrease the numbers of pupils arriving late. Arriving in good time in the morning is very important: it 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. These are all skills our children will need to employ when getting themselves to school and 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.
Are you interested in reading more about school attendance?
Take a look at the below links for some general reports and websites on attendance.
