NHS guidance – Is my child too ill for school?
DfE Advice for parents/ carers about attendance
Please let the school know if your child is going to be absent at the start of the school day (01364 642389) or admin@st-marysrc.devon.sch.uk
Regular and punctual attendance is a legal requirement and essential in helping children make the most of the learning opportunities available to them. The school monitors attendance closely with the Educational Welfare Officer and has a number of incentives and rewards for good attendance. For example individual pupils receive certificates each term for achieving over 97% attendance. Pupils who miss just half a day of school or achieve 100% attendance each term are put into a draw for family tickets to Woodlands Theme Park.
School starts at 8.45am and every pupil is expected to be at school before this time. If your child is just 5 minutes late every day, this equates to missing nearly an hour of school each week, which is over 3 hours a month. Children who arrive late often feel anxious and unsettled about joining the class once the school day has begun, which can affect their concentration for a significant part of the morning.
Learning takes place every day, with teachers planning lessons that build on what the children have already learnt. Missing time from these lessons will leave gaps in knowledge and understanding, which could place children at a disadvantage. Missing a week from school will mean missing about 5 hours of literacy, 5 hours of maths, and 2 hours of science, to name but a few subjects.
Whilst it is accepted that illness is something that cannot be avoided, there are things we can do to limit the amount of school that is missed. If your child needs to attend an appointment during the school day, it would be better for these to be booked during the afternoon. If this is not possible, please try to bring your child back to school after their appointment so that they don’t miss out on a whole day’s learning.
DfE Advice for parents/ carers about attendance
Please let the school know if your child is going to be absent at the start of the school day (01364 642389) or admin@st-marysrc.devon.sch.uk
Regular and punctual attendance is a legal requirement and essential in helping children make the most of the learning opportunities available to them. The school monitors attendance closely with the Educational Welfare Officer and has a number of incentives and rewards for good attendance. For example individual pupils receive certificates each term for achieving over 97% attendance. Pupils who miss just half a day of school or achieve 100% attendance each term are put into a draw for family tickets to Woodlands Theme Park.
School starts at 8.45am and every pupil is expected to be at school before this time. If your child is just 5 minutes late every day, this equates to missing nearly an hour of school each week, which is over 3 hours a month. Children who arrive late often feel anxious and unsettled about joining the class once the school day has begun, which can affect their concentration for a significant part of the morning.
Learning takes place every day, with teachers planning lessons that build on what the children have already learnt. Missing time from these lessons will leave gaps in knowledge and understanding, which could place children at a disadvantage. Missing a week from school will mean missing about 5 hours of literacy, 5 hours of maths, and 2 hours of science, to name but a few subjects.
Whilst it is accepted that illness is something that cannot be avoided, there are things we can do to limit the amount of school that is missed. If your child needs to attend an appointment during the school day, it would be better for these to be booked during the afternoon. If this is not possible, please try to bring your child back to school after their appointment so that they don’t miss out on a whole day’s learning.