Lawefield Primary School
Hello, I am Mrs Jennings and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the Attendance officer here at Lawefield Primary school. Having started in March 2022, I have met many of our families and I look forward to working with you to help maintain your child/ren’s attendance.
Our school aims to meet its school attendance obligations by:
- Promoting good attendance and reducing absence, including persistent absence (90% and below)
- Ensure every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled
- Acting early to address patterns of absence
- Regularly meeting with Education Welfare Service to discuss pupil attendance
As a school, we are proud to see our pupils coming into school every day, on time and proudly wearing their uniform. By coming to school every day, attainment is improved and so are the opportunities and success in later life.
The link between attendance and attainment is clear:
In 2018/19, just 40% of persistently absent (PA) children in KS2 achieved expected KS2 standards, compared with 84% of pupils who were regular attenders.
Attendance is important for more than just attainment:
Regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships which is a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing.
Our attendance target for the school is 96% and we expect individual attendance to be at least 96% by the end of the school year. This equates to roughly 6 - 7 days of absence. Please support school by helping your child to achieve this.
What are my responsibilities regarding my child's school attendance?
As a parent/carer it is your responsibility to ensure that any child of compulsory school age attends school both regularly and on time. The local authority has a duty to make sure that all parents/carers fulfil this responsibility.
As parents, we are the ones who make most decisions for our children and whether they go to school or not, particularly at this young age. For this reason, I request our parents and families to engage with us as much as possible so that we can all work together to attain the best for each of our pupils. We can cope with minor illnesses like coughs and colds and if ever there was problem, we would contact you as soon as possible. I want to encourage our children to only take days off when they really are too ill to come to school.
Medical Appointments
I would like to take this opportunity to explain that medical appointments in school time affects attendance. I kindly ask that general check-up appointments are made before or after school where possible, or preferably, in the half term holidays (of which we have over 13 weeks of).
Holidays during term time
The law states that parents do not have a right to take their child out of school for a holiday during term time. Only in exceptional circumstances may a head teacher grant permission for leave.
The school governing body sets out the requirements for permission to be granted for term time leave. Please contact us if you wish to know more about this.
Parents who choose to take their child out of school without written permission from the school may be issued with a fixed penalty fine of £60 per parent, per child, if paid within 21 days. If you are considering taking your child/ren out of school for term time leave, please contact us and complete the Application for Leave request form.
Lawefield Primary School also likes to celebrate good attendance.
Each week, the class with the highest attendance in school will display the attendance trophy in their classroom. The children enjoy receiving the trophy and love to have it on show for the following week. I also update Parent Hub each Friday so parents and carers can see how the school has performed relating to attendance and punctuality.
Each half term, any child with 96% attendance and no late marks will be entered into a prize draw to win one of two £5 vouchers. Attendance certificates are also handed out so children can visually see how well they have done. We have some lovely prizes like vouchers, scooters and Amazon Fire Tablets to be won.
If you are worried about your child/rens school attendance, please contact school to discuss this as soon as possible.
Thank you
