Attendance and Reporting an Absence

Regular attendance at school is vital to help children achieve and get the best possible start in life. We encourage and celebrate good attendance in our weekly Celebration assembly where the best class is awarded the Attendance Trophy for the week and gets an extra playtime! Children who frequently miss school often fall behind.  There is a strong link between good school attendance and achieving good results.  Good attendance at school shows potential employers that a young person is reliable.  Young people who are frequently absent from school are more likely to become involved in, or be a victim of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Do You Know Your Child's Attendance Figures?

How does your child compare?

All schools in Warrington have their own attendance policies and are responsible for keeping accurate records of pupil attendance.  They will contact parents directly if they have any concerns about a child’s attendance. Warrington Borough Council also offers a range of services to support families who encounter difficulties in ensuring their children attend school regularly and more information can be found here.

Please note that in, accordance with Local Authority guidelines, all holiday absence is treated as unauthorised absence and will be recorded as such. Requests for leave can only be granted by schools if there are exceptional circumstances, and holidays are not considered exceptional.  Requests for planned leave must also be made to the school in advance via the school office, as the Department for Education has told schools that they cannot authorise any absences after they have been taken.

Parents can support regular school attendance by:

• Making sure their child leaves for school early enough to arrive at school on time
• Supporting and encouraging their child by attending parent’s evenings and other events
• Contacting the school to discuss any concerns regarding their child’s attendance
• Working in partnership with the school to resolve any issues that are impacting on their child’s attendance
• Making any medical appointments outside of school hours whenever possible
• Not taking children out of school for holidays in term time or for other unnecessary reasons

Persistent Absence

Children whose attendance figure falls below 90% are regarded as having persistent absence, as classed by the Department for Education. In order to support in improving attendance, we take a proactive approach and will communicate concerns about poor attendance to parents and carers. At GSP we use an escalating approach which includes letters, meetings in school and / or a referral to the Attendance Team at Warrington Borough Council.

Children who are too ill to come to school or may pass infection to others should not attend school for 48 hours from the last time they were sick. 

When children are absent from school we ask parents to inform the school office by 9.00am with the reason for absence. We will contact parents if we don’t hear from you.

Reporting a child's absence can be done in two ways:

• By ringing the school on 01925 728176 between 8am and 9am, and selecting option 1 (report a pupil absence)
• By emailing the school to report an absence on [email protected] 

Please do not communicate absences via Arbor as they may be missed. 

Miss Leah monitors attendance and punctuality every day, should you have any concerns about your child’s attendance please speak to her, she is available every morning on the school playground from 8.45am or telephone school for an appointment.

Leave of absence will be given for attendance at medical or dental appointments or for examinations in music, dance etc. However, where possible such appointments should always be made outside of school.

Planned absences for medical appointments, holidays, special family events etc must be requested prior to the absence (we ask for 2-weeks if possible) by completing the paper forms which are held in the school office. 

School Holiday Dates

The School Governing Body, under the guidance of the Local Authority, decide school holiday dates for our school. These are published for parents/carers at the start of every school year and in the summer term prior to the new school year. They are displayed in the parent notice board, on our school website and a paper copy can also be obtained from the school office.

2024 Updates around Attendance

Please see here for the latest updates regarding school attendance and the use of penalty notices as outlined in the 2024 government guidance “Working together to Improve School Attendance”. This updated guidance emphasises the importance of regular school attendance and sets out clear areas where we should consider the use of penalty notices. This is laid out in law and all local authorities must adhere to this.

The Department for Education has reinforced that good attendance is essential for every child’s educational progress and wellbeing. The guidance highlights several key changes that we want to ensure all families are aware of.

Clear Thresholds for Penalty Notices.

Penalty notices may be considered if one of the three criteria below are met.

• Code U – late after the close of registration. If there are 10 or more sessions missed over a 10-week period and a notice to improve has not brought about a change.
• Code G – if there are two or more holidays in term time over a 12-month rolling period.
• Code G or O – if there has been one extended period of absence which is greater than 10 sessions.

Note: A typical school day consists of two sessions – a morning and an afternoon. The 10 sessions referred to above will be equivalent to 5 typical school days.

• If any of the above criteria are met, Warrington Borough Council may issue each parent a fine of £80, rising to £160 if you do not pay within 21 days.
• Each parent may get up to 2 fines for the same child in a 3-year period.
• If you get a second fine in 3 years it will be £160 – there is no option to pay at the lower rate.
• If you do not pay the fine in 28 days, you may be taken to court and prosecuted.
• If your child is off school 3 or more times within the 3 years and the above criteria is met you will not be fined again but may be taken to court, which could result in a criminal record.

What this means for parents. Please be assured that our priority is to work together with the Local Authority and families to support your child’s education. We understand that circumstances may arise that could impact attendance, and we are here to help in the first instance. If you have any concerns or need assistance, please contact us. It is important that you notify the school as early as possible regarding any planned absences and that you provide documentation if your child is unwell for extended periods.

Roles and Responsibilities of Governors, Headteacher and Other School Staff

The Governors will ensure that:

school holiday dates for each academic year are agreed by the start of the summer term in the previous school year;
a full consultation takes place if the main school session times are to be changed;
any changes to the start or end of the school day are implemented at the start of a new school year;
attendance targets are set each year;
weekly levels of lesson time, excluding collective worship, registration and breaks meet recommended levels.

The Headteacher will ensure that:

pupils are registered accurately and efficiently;
parents/carers are contacted when reasons for absence are unknown or unauthorised;
pupil attendance and punctuality are monitored regularly;
a reward system for attendance and punctuality is implemented;
school attendance statistics are reported to the Educational Welfare Officer and Governing Body;
parents/carers are written to when attendance and/or punctuality is poor;
where there are cases of persistent poor attendance and/or punctuality rates, these are referred to the Educational Welfare Officer;
parent/carers receive an attendance report with the Summer end of year reports.

Teaching staff will ensure that:

they register children accurately and efficiently;
they inform the headteacher of any children who are persistently late, have low attendance levels or have unexplained absence;
they encourage children to attend school regularly and inform the headteacher if they become aware of a problem that may lead to absences.

Parents/carers will be expected to:

ensure that their child(ren) attends school regularly;
ensure that their child(ren) arrives at school on time and is picked up promptly at the end of the school day;
inform school on the first day of non-attendance;
avoid taking family holidays during term time;
inform the school in advance of any planned absence.
Arrangements for monitoring and evaluation

The Governing Body will receive a termly report from the headteacher including:

the rate of attendance for the school, including rates for specific groups of pupils (e.g. SEN);
comparison of attendance compared with the agreed target and previous year’s rates;
additional background information relevant to the attendance rate in school.
The headteacher and the Governing Body will evaluate the data and decide what, if any, further action is required.

Files to Download