Going to school regularly is important for your child’s future. Parents are responsible for making sure their children receive full-time education.  Talking to your child and their teachers could help solve any problems early if they arise – we are here to help and support.

Regular school attendance and punctuality.

Good attendance is essential so children don’t miss important learning. Good attendance and punctuality are important so that children feel secure in their routines and are ready for the day ahead.

We know that when children arrive at school on time and are greeted warmly by an adult, they feel safe and welcome and part of the school family. This helps children to be settled and ready to learn which is why they are here!

Your responsibilities as a parent

By law, all children of compulsory school age must receive a suitable full-time education. Once your child is registered at Green Park School, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend on a regular basis and on time.  If your child does not attend school on a regular basis, you could be subject to a fine or be prosecuted in court. We all need to work together to make sure children attend school on time and every day.

How to prevent your child from missing school

You can help prevent your child missing school by:

• Making sure they understand the importance of good attendance and punctuality.
• Taking an interest in their education, ask about schoolwork and encouraging them to get involved in school activities.
• Discussing any problems they may have at school and letting their teacher or head teacher know about anything serious. How are they feeling? How are things going? How can we help them?
• Not letting children take time off school for minor ailments, particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work.

To avoid disrupting your child’s education, you should try to arrange appointments and outings (where possible):

• After school hours.
• At weekends.
• During school holidays.
• You should not expect Green Park School to agree to your child going on holiday during term time.

Support on school attendance

We know that children’s school attendance can be affected by many factors such as:

• Mental health.
• Housing or care arrangements.
• Transport to and from school.
• Work and money.
• Family issues
• SEND or medical needs

We are here to help our families. If there is a problem, please come and talk to us as soon as possible.

Our approach to supporting and improving school attendance.

The Strategic Approach – Building an Attendance Culture

Green Park School aims to put an emphasis on developing a school culture and climate which builds a sense of connectedness and belonging to ensure all children can attend school and thrive.  Our approach ensures we prioritise building solid and positive relationships with children and their parents to nurture a sense of belonging.  The staged approach we use ensures we identify triggers early that can lead to poor attendance such as mental health issues, lack of trust, communication and relationship breakdowns and the possible lack of networking opportunities both internal (in-school) and external (external agencies).

Aims of the strategy

• Increase school attendance and reduce persistent absence to meet set targets.
• Ensure attendance is well managed within the school, with the appropriate level of resources allocated.
• Enable the school to make informed use of attendance data to target interventions appropriately whilst being mindful of family needs and social contexts
• Support families when they need it so that children can attend school feeling confident and happy

Objectives 

• Create a positive climate within the school in which good attendance is recognised as the norm and every child aims for excellent attendance.
• Make attendance and punctuality a priority for all members of the school community with clear day-to-day processes for following up absences
• Set focused targets to improve individual attendance and whole school attendance levels, monitoring improvements on a weekly and half termly basis
• Record and monitor attendance and absenteeism and apply appropriate strategies to minimise absenteeism.
• Develop a systematic approach to gathering and analysing relevant attendance data.
• Provide support, advice and guidance to parents and their children and develop mutual cooperation between home and the school in encouraging good attendance and in addressing identified attendance issues.
• Provide additional support where needed for pupils with SEND or medical needs
• Ensure that all staff understand the social context of our pupils and any potential barriers they may be facing
• Work with families to help overcome barriers
• Prioritise child-centred actions to improve attendance outcomes
• Develop and build children’s emotional resilience
• Offer evidence-based interventions when needed e.g. EBSA pathway
• Work with external agencies to support families if needed

Attendance is everyone’s responsibility – let’s work together to make it happen!