Attendance – Make Every Day Count

At Peafield Lane Academy, we believe that every day in school matters. Regular attendance supports children’s learning, friendships, wellbeing and personal development. Our expectation is that children attend school every day and on time when they are fit and well, and we aim for attendance of 97% or above.

Reporting an Absence

If your child is unable to attend school, parents/carers must contact the school office by 8:45am on each day of absence. You can do this by telephone, email or through the Office Class Dojo. Please do not report absence to class teachers. 

If we have not received a reason for a child’s absence, we will contact parents/carers as part of our first-day absence and safeguarding procedures. Where we are unable to establish contact, this may include a Safe and Well home visit.

Punctuality

Our school gates open at 8:30am and children should be in their classroom and ready to learn by 8:45am. Being on time gives children the best possible start to their day and prevents them from missing important learning.

Recorded Lateness: 

• After 9:05am – a child is marked Late (L).
• After 9:15am – a child is marked Late after the register has closed (U). This counts as an unauthorised absence for the whole session and affects their attendance percentage.

When Attendance Becomes a Concern

We monitor attendance carefully and work with families as early as possible when attendance begins to fall below 97%.  Our approach is supportive and graduated: we seek to understand the barriers affecting attendance, offer pastoral and external support where appropriate, and work alongside families to improve attendance.

Term-Time Leave

Children should not be taken out of school during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Requests must be made to the Head Teacher in advance using the school’s Leave of Absence form. Unauthorised absence may result in a referral to the Local Authority and a penalty notice in line with the national framework.

Understanding Your Child’s Attendance

We want parents and carers to have a clear understanding of their child’s attendance and the impact that time away from school can have on learning.

Every half-term, your child’s teacher will share their current attendance percentage with you via Class Dojo. Attendance will also be discussed at Parents’ Evenings and included within your child’s end-of-year report.

Parents and carers can also view their child’s up-to-date attendance information through Arbor at any time.

If you have any concerns about your child’s attendance, or there are barriers making regular attendance difficult, please speak to us. Working together early gives us the best opportunity to provide the right support. 

 

Support

If attendance is becoming difficult for your child, please speak to us. We want to work in partnership with families to understand what is getting in the way and provide the right support to help every child attend, belong and thrive.

Useful links: 

NCC - Attendance Information for Parents 

NCC - Holidays during term time

NCC - Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) including Anxiety Related Non-attendance (ARNA)