As you know, we have a real focus on ensuring that the children at Keyworth Primary attend school every day, unless there is a legitimate reason why they can't. We are all hoping for a 'normal' school year and, as such, we are re-sharing some information about the importance of school attendance with you. 

We are pleased to let you know that we are re-introducing our attendance awards for the end of each term where the children are entered into a draw to win a prize. We don't like to penalise children who have been off school with illness, so we have three categories: '100%', '95%' or above and 'attendance equal to or an improvement from the previous term'. Some children will find their name in more than one category! We will keep you posted about this towards the end of term. 

We will also be publishing on the website the attendance for each class on a weekly basis - the children like a bit of competition!

If a child is unable to attend school for any reason, such as illness or a doctor's appointment, it is vital to ring into school before 8.45am, giving the reason and when you expect the child to return to school.

If you need to request permission for your child to be absent from school, please contact the school to arrange a meeting with Mr Cresswell, Mrs Holmes or Mrs King.

 

While an attendance figure of 90% may not sound very low, research in 2016 showed it reduces a child's chance of achieving 5+ 5-9 grades at GCSE from 81% to around 57%. A child who averages 80% attendance during their secondary school career effectively misses one whole year of education and significantly reduces their chances of good grades.

Even for high-achieving students poor attendance has a significant negative impact on their grades. It has been shown that missing just 17 days of school in Year 11 reduces final GCSE grades by one level across all subjects. This could easily be sufficient to prevent a student getting on to the sixth-form course and ultimately the university or career of their choice.

We understand that sometimes children are genuinely ill and of course you must be the judge of this. However, there may be other factors which are causing reluctance to come to school and, if you believe this is the case, please contact us. We will do all we can to help.