Attendance
At St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School, we believe in developing good patterns of attendance and have high expectations for the attendance and punctuality of all our pupils from the outset. Regular attendance is a central part of our school’s vision, values, ethos, and day to day life. We recognise the strong connections between attendance, attainment, safeguarding and wellbeing.
Reporting absence or late arrival:
If your child is unwell or unable to come to school for another reason, please either e-mail, pop into the office or phone the school on 01761 418594 before 9.10am each day to let us know.
Please leave your child’s name, class and a clear description of their illness or symptoms (it’s helpful so that we can track any occurring illness in a class).
If you are unsure if you should keep your child off school, then this guidance may help:
If we don’t hear from you, the school office will:
- Send a text/eSchools communication asking you to contact the school to provide a reason for absence for your child.
- If we do not hear from you we will contact you by telephone and then the emergency contact numbers you have provided. In the interests of safeguarding all our pupils, a home visit may also be conducted.
- A referral will be made to Local Authority if no contact has been made with parents by the tenth consecutive day of absence (or sooner if deemed appropriate), and we are unable to verify your whereabouts. At this point your child will be a Child Missing from Education (CME).
Arriving to school on time:
The school gates open at 8.45am and will remain open until 9am. Children should come through the school gates and into their classrooms ready to start the day.
Morning registration starts at 8.55am.
- If your child arrives between 9 - 9.10am, they will need to go via the School Office and will be recorded as Late Before Registers (Code L).
- If your child arrives after registers close at 9.10am, they will be recorded as Unauthorised Late After Registers (Code U).
Request for term time leave:
If you feel that an absence is unavoidable for an exceptional circumstance, please complete an request for term time leave form.
If your child's absence continues, we will:
- send you letters outlining our concerns and expectations, and offering support,
- arrange a meeting with you to discuss any barriers and understand how we can overcome them,
- create a personalised plan, such as an attendance contract, to address any barriers to attendance and make clear each person’s role in improving the attendance patterns of your child,
- provide additional support in school to improve attendance,
- offer signposting support to other agencies or services, if appropriate
- refer the matter to the Local Authority for further support or relevant legal sanctions if attendance deteriorates following the above actions.
National Framework for Penalty Notices:
Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 gives schools and local authorities the power to prosecute parents when they have failed to ensure the regular attendance of their child at their registered school. Penalty notices can be used to give parents the opportunity to discharge their liability for this offence without being prosecuted.
Following the introduction of the new National Framework for Penalty Notices, the following changes will come into force for Penalty Notices issued for unauthorised absences recorded after 19 August 2024. This information refers to penalty notices that are considered for irregular attendance and unauthorised term-time leave:
Attendance Policy
For further information, please refer to the school's Attendance Policy.