Attendance

Attendance at St Matthew’s Bloxam C E Primary School.

St Matthew's Bloxam C E Primary School prides itself on offering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our children. We know that children develop lasting success, both academically and socially when they have good attendance. Attendance is key here at St Matthew’s Bloxam CE Primary School to academic success as well as developing and maintaining friendships.

The Department for Education (DfE) agree that children need to be at school, by making the Working Together to Improve School Attendance guidance statutory from 19^th of August 2024. This means that St Matthew's Bloxam C E Primary School, must follow this guidance and any processes within it.

We expect parents / carers to help their children to achieve at least 95% attendance and be in school on time (doors open at 8.40 and registers close at 8.50am).

We understand that sometimes children need to be off school when they are poorly. However, it is vital that they do not miss too much, so to support with this, the NHS launched Is my child too ill for school? This handy document allows parents and carers to identify their child’s condition and respond accordingly to the time off school needed.

Every child and their family will be treated on a case-by-case basis. This will ensure that St Matthew's Bloxam C E Primary School remains fair for individual circumstances.

Why is regular attendance important?

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Because every second counts.

90% attendance may sound good. However, this is the equivalent of missing a half-day of schooling EACH WEEK.

If this continues over every five years a child spends at school, a child with 90% attendance will miss HALF A YEAR’S schooling.

A child with 80% attendance will lose A FULL YEAR of schooling over the same period.

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Why should they be on time?

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• Arriving 5 minutes late every day adds up to over 3 days lost each year.

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• Arriving 15 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 2 weeks a year.

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• Arriving 30 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 19 days a year.