At Oak Hill First School, attendance is a shared responsibility between you, the parent, and the school. Together, we create a strong culture of attendance, led by our attendance team: our Attendance Champion, Mrs Thomas, and our Attendance Officer, Mrs Aldridge.

 

How do the Oak Hill team work  together to support school attendance? 

What are the times of the school day and what happens if my child is late? 

The school day and our children's learning starts at 8:35am when the first bell goes. There is a five minute window where the doors are kept open until 8:40am to allow time for you to drop off any siblings that you may have in other year groups. We expect that all pupils are in school by the second bell at 8:40am. Registers only remain open during AM registration, after which point pupils are marked absent.  

  

What is good attendance? 

Children need to be in school in order for them to achieve their potential and make progress in their learning. Every minute missed represents learning lost. Good attendance means being in school every day that children can possibly attend. We will write to you with updates around your child’s attendance regularly and class teachers will raise concerns with you so that we can support you and work together to improve your child’s attendance.  

  

What is poor attendance? 

Poor attendance means missing school when it is not necessary. For example, this may be when a child is only slightly unwell and is well enough to attend school, or when appointments are booked during the school day that could be arranged outside school hours.

If we are concerned about a child's attendance, our Attendance Support Team, including the class teacher, Attendance Officer, Attendance Lead and Assistant Headteachers, will work with families to understand any difficulties and provide support to help improve attendance.

We want all children to attend school regularly so they can make the most of their learning and achieve their best. If you have any concerns about your child's attendance, please get in touch. We are here to help and will work with you to find the best way forward.

In some cases, where attendance remains a concern, we may need to involve external agencies or the Local Authority to provide additional support. This can sometimes lead to penalty notices being issued for unauthorised absences.

In line with Local Authority guidance, we monitor the attendance of all pupils. If your child's attendance starts to fall or they are absent regularly, we will contact you to discuss our concerns and remind you of the importance of regular school attendance.

If attendance does not improve, we may invite parents/carers to an Attendance Meeting. This gives us an opportunity to discuss any barriers to attendance and agree on ways we can work together to support your child in attending school regularly.

 

Attendance and lateness 

Whilst it is vital that your child attends school as often as possible, it is also vital to their education that they are on time each day. The beginning of a lesson is often the most important part where they get settled in and ready for the school day. Children are disadvantaged if they miss this and it can impact on the rest of their day. Therefore, as a school we also track children’s lateness and will write to you should we have concerns about your child’s lateness. Any lateness after 9:10am will be counted as an unauthorised absence and will add to their non attendance percentage.