Attendance

At Owston Park Primary Academy we value the importance of high attendance. If your child is in school they can maximise their learning and achievement as well as making friends and having fun.  It is important that you send your child to school every day so that they can reach their full potential. It is expected that your child’s attendance will be 97% or above.

For most students the best place to be during term time is in school, surrounded by the support of their friends and family. Studies show that students who attend school regularly are more likely to succeed academically and develop strong social skills.

As per our policy, the school is committed to meeting our obligation with regards to attendance through our whole-school culture and ethos that values good attendance, including:

• Promoting good attendance,

• Reducing absence (including persistent and severe absence),

• Ensuring every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled,

• Acting early to address patterns of absence,

• Building strong relationships with families to ensure pupils have the support in place to attend school.

We will also promote and support punctuality in attending school. Please note, if your child arrives at school more than 30 minutes late then this is classed as an unauthorised absence.

If your child is not in school then please let us know before 8.30am. If we have not heard from you we will send you a reminder text. You can contact school by replying to this text, using the messaging part of Class Dojo or by telephoning the school office. We have a duty of care to all our pupils and therefore if we are unable to contact you then we may complete a home visit or pass your details onto other safeguarding agencies.

There are times when children are genuinely too unwell to attend school. There are also times when there may be circumstances that make attendance challenging. We encourage you to communicate any issues or concerns with us as early as possible so that we can provide the necessary support. Our goal is to work together to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed. Please contact the school office and arrange an appointment with Headteacher, Mrs Semley or Attendance Officer, Mrs Hiblin, if necessary.

Low Attendance and Penalty Fines

If your child’s attendance is low then we will contact you by email or letter. We will continue to monitor their attendance and may invite you into school to discuss our concerns. We may also discuss attendance with your child to help us understand why their attendance is low.

If you child’s attendance still doesn’t improve then we may issue a penalty notice (fine) or refer to the Local Authority for advice, support or prosecution.

If your child is statutory school age then penalty notices will be considered for 5 days of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of combination of any type of unauthorised absence. The 10-school week period can span different terms or schools’ years. Unauthorised absence may be due to term time holidays as well as other unauthorised absence.

From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. This fine is per parent.

In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.

Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other actions such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.

If you’re prosecuted and attend court because your child hasn’t been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500.

Penalty Notices will not automatically be issued and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Parents are advised that where the LA considers that a Penalty Notice is not appropriate due to the level of concern about a child’s absence, prosecution action may be taken or other legal interventions.

If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Semley or Mrs Hiblin.

Thank you for your support.