Attendance

Attendance and Punctuality

At Overleigh St Mary’s we are committed to raising the attainment of the pupils at our school. To ensure all pupils achieve their potential it is vital that they attend school daily and are on time. This page will give you all the information you might need about attendance and punctuality at Overleigh. If you wish to talk to someone about attendance, please come into the school office to make an appointment with one of our Attendance Champions.

Attendance: Did You Know?…..

If your child is between 5 and 16 years old and is a registered pupil at school, it is your legal responsibility to make sure they attend regularly.

If your child misses 1 day of school a week they miss 7 and a half weeks a year. This is more than half a terms learning!

The link between attendance and attainment is clear:

• In 2018/19, just 40% of persistently absent (PA) children in KS2 achieved expected KS2 standards, compared with 84% of pupils who regularly attended school.

And it’s never too late to benefit from good attendance:

• More than half (54%) of pupils who were PA in Year 10 and then rarely absent in Year 11, passed at least 5 GCSEs, compared to 36% of pupils who were persistently absent in both years.

But attendance is important for more than just attainment:

• Regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing.

Attendance in the first week of school in September sets up attendance throughout the year (and it's time to start preparing for back to school now):

• Evidence from a Children’s Commissioner report showed that children who miss one of the first few days of the new term for unauthorised reasons are much more likely to miss long periods of their schooling than their peers who attended those first few days. These children had a predicted overall absence of almost 45%, or 31 days across the term.

• In the 2022/23 academic year, of those who had at least one day of absence in the first week of term, 55.5% went on to be persistently absent.

Punctuality: Did You Know?…..

Being punctual and on time is a key life skill and it is important for children to learn this. At Overleigh, the school gates are opened at 8:30am, classroom doors open at 8:40am and are closed at 8:50am. Children arriving after 8:50am need to sign in at the office with their parent, where it is recorded as a late mark. If children arrive after 9:10am, this is marked as an unauthorised absence.

5 minutes late every day is the same as missing 3 days of school.

15 minutes late every day is the same as missing 10 days of school.

30 minutes late every day is the same as missing 19 days of school.

What We Do!

·         On-time Tilly Bear and senior members of staff are on the school gates every morning to give children and families a warm welcome at the start and end of every day.

·         Weekly interclass attendance ‘who wants to be 100% attender’ game. If classes get 98% attendance or more, they can answer a question and hopefully win a prize!

·         Termly 96%+/100% attendance prizes and certificates shared in a special assembly.

·         Prizes to recognise significant improvement in punctuality and/or attendance.

·         Class attendance displays to promote positive attendance.

How to improve your child’s school attendance and where to get support is availablehere

Further information from CWAC regarding attendance can be found here: School Attendance Cheshire West and Chester Council

Is My Child Too Ill for School?

School Anxiety & Refusal

School anxiety and refusal: How parents can help their child get through tough times

Fines for parents for taking children out of school: What you need to know – The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)