Attendance and Absences

Absences

The Governors and staff at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School are united in their belief that regular school attendance is a pre-requisite to good education and securing it is therefore a high priority

It is the responsibility of parents/carers to inform the school by 10am on the first day of their child’s absence.  If by 10am on the first day of a child’s absence the school has not been notified, the Attendance Officer will contact the child’s parent/carer.

Here at St Patrick’s we use a more efficient and secure system for reporting your child’s absence due to illness, called Studybugs.

Please get the free Studybugs app, or register on the Studybugs website, and use it to tell us whenever your child’s ill and unable to attend school.

https://studybugs.com/about/parents

Attendance

We have high expectations for attendance and expect children to be in school everyday.

Regular attendance at school is good for children. It helps their social development, health, and mental wellbeing. Pupils who attend school regularly improve their chances of being academically successful.

Poor attendance can have an adverse impact on, friendship groups, self-confidence, resilience, and social, emotional and mental health. It can have a damaging effect on a child’s education and most work missed during an absence may never effectively be made up. There is a proven link between poor school attendance and low levels of achievement.

Pupils are expected to attend school punctually every day they are required to be at school.

The school gates open at 8.40am and the school days starts at 8.55am. Pupils should be in their classrooms, ready to begin lessons at this time.

Lates

The morning register will be marked by 9.05am. Pupils will receive a late mark if they are not in their classroom by this time.  Pupils attending after this time will receive a mark to show that they were on site, but this will count as a late mark.

Lateness can seriously affect a child's life chances and can result in;

• low academic attainment
• friendship difficulties
• low self-esteem

Please ensure your child is on time for school so they can make the most of every day.