11th January 2023 - UPDATE

We have seen an increase in the number of children arriving late to school in the morning - often missing register. You may not be aware, but once the registers close and a child receives a 'late' mark they are then classed as absent for the morning session (as well as missing out on learning time). This obviously negatively impacts their attendance percentage and is also classed as unauthorised (unless there is a very good reason for lateness).  Please see the information below. 

From Monday 16th, we will be locking the gates at 9am, which allows ten minutes (main school) for children to get into their classrooms and settled, as doors open at 8:50am. The Foundation doors will open at 8:55am. Registers are then taken and submitted by 9:05am. 

Any children arriving after the gates are locked will need to be brought to the office via the front entrance so that Mrs Buttery can ensure that their arrival is recorded. 

We hope that this enables a smoother start to the day, with children settled and ready to learn once the register is submitted - lessons start at this point. 

 

 

Dear Parents,

You will shortly receive a text message from school informing you of your child’s attendance from our return to school in September up to and including today.

The ideal attendance for a child is 95% or above, which considers typical absence for usual childhood illnesses. When a child’s attendance falls below 90%, they are classed as persistently absent. We prefer to offer support to families in this situation and, in most cases, this support means children’s attendance does improve.  However, the Local Authority have issued fines to some families this term because of especially poor attendance.

Under section 444 of the Education Act 1996, if a child fails to attend their school regularly, their parents / carers are guilty of an offence - they are deemed to have broken the law.

The Local Authority may take formal action when parents break the law in this way - irregular school attendance could result in one of the following actions:

1. A Penalty Notice being issued. Each penalty notice is £60 if paid within the first 21 days, rising to £120 if paid between 22-28 days. Failure to pay will result in prosecution.
2. Prosecution. This could lead to fines of up to £2500 and/or 3 months imprisonment.

If a child has exceptionally low attendance, and parents have told us this is due to illness, we may ask for proof that their child has had medical intervention - a note from your doctor for instance. If this is not forthcoming, then the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. If an absence is not authorised by the school, the pupil’s attendance is deemed to be irregular.

Obviously, we are aware that some children may be absent for exceptional reasons  - please come and speak to us if you believe there is an exceptional reason for your child's absence from school.

Please note that if you have more than one child, each child’s irregular attendance is dealt with as a separate matter and may incur separate penalties.

The  majority of children in school have very good attendance which supports them to achieve well during their time in school – we want the same for all the children at Keyworth Primary.

If you have any questions regarding attendance then please speak to Mr Cresswell, Mrs Holmes or Mrs King.