Yew Tree Primary Academy is a successful school and your child plays an important part in making it so. Our aim is to ensure your child’s education is the best that it can be and that they can achieve the highest standards in education. Therefore, it is vital that children attend school on time, every day when the school is open, unless the reason for absence is unavoidable.
Ensuring a child attends school is the legal responsibility of the parent/carer and permitting absence from school, without a valid reason, creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution.
Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and recurrent absence will seriously affect learning and progress. Pupils' absence also disrupts teaching routines, which can then affect the learning of others in the same class.
Helping to create and maintain a pattern of high attendance is everybody’s responsibility, parents/carers, pupils and all members of staff.
To help us focus on this we will:
Parents will receive regular updates on attendance from school and the Principal and all the staff monitor attendance daily, weekly, half termly and termly. Children are rewarded in school for excellent attendance and they are very clear about why excellent attendance is important.
Link to Attendance Leaflet for Families
Every week, any child who is absent from school will be classified, by the school, as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information regarding the cause of any absence is always required.
Authorised absences (mornings and/or afternoons) from school must have a valid reason such as illness or dental /medical appointments that unavoidably fall in school time. The school should be informed of any medical/ dental appointments and may request appointment cards or doctors’ letters before choosing to authorise an absence.
Unauthorised absences are those which school does not consider reasonable and for which no leave has been granted. This type of absence may lead to School Attendance Services making home visits or seeking to take legal proceedings.
Holiday requests in term time are at the complete discretion of the Head Teacher and may only be considered, in the most exceptional of circumstances. This will also be dependant on whether your child exceeds the expected level of attendance.
A pupil becomes a ‘persistent absentee’ (PA) when they have 10 sessions (5 days) of unauthorised absence in any rolling 10 week period. Absence at this level can cause considerable damage to a child’s educational prospects and we need the co-operation and support of parents/carers to tackle this. We monitor all absence thoroughly. Any pupil that is approaching the PA level, may be issued with a penalty warning notice by post, stating that if there is no improvement in unauthorised absence, then an Education Penalty Notice (EPN) may be issued.
PA pupils are tracked and monitored carefully by the school and will automatically be made known to School Attendance Services. In this instance parents/carers may be required to attend an attendance panel, with the head teacher, learning mentor and representatives from the authority.
An Education Penalty Notice is an alternative to prosecution and aims to improve attendance.
It is an offence if a child fails to attend school regularly. Absences are classified as unauthorised if without a valid reason or school cannot or has not given permission.
If an EPN is issued, then a fine of £120 payable within 28 days of the notice must be paid. This will be reduced to £60 if paid within 21 days.
Education Penalty Notices may be issued in the following circumstances:
We expect all parents and carers to ensure that children arrive at school on time.
School gates open at 8:45am doors are closed promptly at 9.00am.
If a child arrives after 9.00am they will be recorded as late. If a child is late for school, the child should be taken to the school office where their attendance can be recorded and any school meals orders taken.
The responsibility for lateness and attendance rests with the parent and any concerns are raised with the parent and not with the child.
Registers close at 9.30am and any child arriving after this time is treated as being late after registration which is recorded as an unauthorised absence.
The first thing to do is to contact the school to discuss your concerns.
What are my responsibilities regarding my child’s school attendance?
As a parent/carer it is your responsibility to ensure that any child of compulsory school age attends school both regularly and on time. The local authority has a duty to make sure that all parents/carers fulfil this responsibility.
The school should contact you in the first instance to raise concerns about your child’s attendance. If they see no improvement, or there are particular difficulties involved, a referral will be made to the Education Welfare Service.
Parents whose children are on a school register and fail to ensure the regular and punctual attendance of their child(ren), may be guilty of an offence under Section 444 or 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996 and the Local Authority may issue a Penalty Notice or take enforcement action through the Courts to secure regular attendance.
School gives your child a wide range of opportunities and experiences in the form of academic lessons, educational trips and school clubs allowing them to develop their interests and achieve their full potential. Regular school attendance means that your child can make the most of their education.
Less than 95% attendance every year in school equals a 1 grade difference across ALL GCSE grades. Therefore, Yew Tree Academy has a minimum target of 96% attendance for every pupil.
Excellent attendance and punctuality are essential for future employment, where an absence rate of 5% or above would be considered a cause for concern.
If a pupil does not attend school or is not taking part in an approved educational activity, they are classed as ABSENT from school. This means that if your child is off school for any reason, even if they are ill or have medical permission to be off school, they will be marked as ABSENT.
100% attendance is 190 days in school.
8 days of absence is 96%.
12 days of absence is 94%.
19 days absence is 90%.
29 days absence is 85%.
38 days absence is 80%.
47 days absence is 75%.
Please note: Even if an absence is authorised, percentage attendance is still affected.
We ask parents/carers not to keep their child off school unless the absence is absolutely unavoidable.
It is soon going to be that time of year (if not already) where coughs and colds are on the increase. We understand that when feeling under the weather, staying at home can feel like the best form of recovery but as the NHS says,
“not every illness needs to keep your child from school.”
Here are the recommendations from the Public Health Agency for common illness that often, but not always necessary, result in absences from school;
Symptom | Recommended period to be kept away from nursery/ school | |
Diarrhoea and / or vomiting | 48 hours from last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting | |
Conjunctivitis | None | |
Head lice | None | |
Tonsillitis | None | |
Glandular fever | None | |
Warts and Verrucae | None | |
Chickenpox | Five days from the onset of rash | |
Hand, Foot and Mouth | None | |
Impetigo | Until lesions are crusted and healed or 48 hours after commencing antibiotic treatment | |
General cough and / or cold | None | |
Minor Headache | None | |
Sore throat | None |
Best Advice – If your child does not need immediate medical attention, bring them into school. Should your child be ill and off school then please seek medical attention and provide school with a medical note from the GP.
Yew Tree Primary Academy
The Avenue
Halewood
L26 1UU
Tel: 0151 477 8950
Email: school@yewtreeknowsley.co.uk