Overall Attendance at SS Mary and John’s

Attendance and Punctuality

Children are expected to attend school regularly and punctually.

The Department for Education (DfE) clearly states:

‘Central to raising standards in Education and ensuring all pupils can fulfil their potential is an assumption so widely understood that it is insufficiently stated – pupils need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education. Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. Children with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and secondary school.’

Our aim at SS Mary and Johns is for our whole school attendance to be 100% – absence from school impacts on pupil attainment and progress.

Absence Procedures

Parents/Carers must contact the school as early as possible on the first day of their child’s absence and every subsequent day of absence – updating the school on their child’s condition and expected day of return.

  • Contact Number: Please call the school on 01902 558780, ideally before 8.30am, with a reason for the absence.

  • Safeguarding Checks: Following our safeguarding procedures, a daily phone call or text message is sent to the parent/carer of any absent children if they have not already reported their child’s absence.

  • Home Visits: If contact cannot be made with a parent/carer, a home visit may be carried out by the Wellbeing and Attendance Officer. Other agencies, such as the Local Authority Education Welfare Officer, may be informed where necessary.

Medical Evidence

In the case of regular or continued absence, we may request medical evidence as proof. This evidence may include:

  • GP appointment card (name, date, and time clearly stated)

  • Prescription

  • Medical packaging with the name of the child on it

  • Medication

  • Hospital letter or appointment letter

Arrangements will be made for parents/carers to meet with Miss Greaves from our pastoral team in school, and an attendance support plan may be initiated. In addition, we will follow our support-first approach, which may mean implementing early help support for the family. In severe cases of absence, a meeting with Mrs Trapani, the Principal, will be requested.

Lateness

Punctuality is of the utmost importance and lateness will not be tolerated.

  • ‘Walk into Learning’ starts from 8.30am.

  • All pupils (Reception to Y6) should be in their classroom by 8.45am at the latest, ready for learning.

  • After 8.50am, children will be marked as late.

Appointments

As far as possible, parents/carers should attempt to book medical and dental appointments outside of school hours. Where this is not possible, appointment cards or letters should be brought into school to enable the authorisation of the absence.

If the appointment requires the pupil to leave during the school day, they must be signed out by a parent/carer and signed back in upon their return. Pupils must attend school before and after the appointment where possible. A whole day’s absence for a medical appointment (which takes place in the morning) will not be authorised, as we would expect the pupil to return for the afternoon session.

Religious Observance

The school will take advice from Wolverhampton City Council and local religious leaders of all faiths to establish the appropriate number of days required for religious festivals.

Parents are required to inform the school in advance if absences are required for days of religious observance. Parents/Carers must inform the school at least one week in advance of these dates.

Leave of Absence During Term Time

At SS Mary and Johns Catholic Primary Academy, our aim is to prepare pupils for their future lives and careers. With this in mind, we require parents/carers to observe the school holidays as prescribed.

Schools can only grant leave of absence where an application is made in advance by a parent the pupil normally lives with, and the school is satisfied that, based on the individual facts of the case, there are exceptional circumstances which justify the leave. — Department for Education, “Working Together to Improve School Attendance”

Requesting Leave

  • Parents/Carers must inform the school, using the form provided, at least two weeks in advance for any leave of absence requests. (The form can be found on our Leave of Absence page.)

  • Any requests for leave will be considered on an individual basis.

  • Attendance legislation details changes to how local authorities process term-time holidays and leave. You can read the full guidance from the Department for Education online.

We want all parents and carers to know that we understand some leaves of absence cannot be helped, and there are circumstances where your child/children will need time off school due to emergencies. We operate under a support-first approach, whereby we try to liaise with parents to come to an agreement if a leave needs to be taken.

Penalty Notices

Penalty notices for unauthorized term-time leave are £80 per parent/carer per child. If not paid within 28 days, the penalty notice increases to £160.

Authorised vs. Unauthorised Absences

  • Authorised Absences: When children are absent through illness or family circumstances, about which parents have informed the school and the school has agreed.

  • Unauthorised Absences: Absences for other reasons must receive the Principal’s explicit permission, otherwise they will be recorded as unauthorised.

All requests for absence and the subsequent replies are kept in our attendance monitoring file. If a request is not received in time, it may mean that the absence is automatically recorded as unauthorised on the register.

Current law requires the school to note all unauthorised absences on the child’s permanent record. Attendance rates are published publicly and this information forms part of the school league tables. All individual attendance and punctuality figures are shared directly with parents/carers on their child’s mid-year and end-of-year school reports.