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Attendance and Punctuality

What to do if your child is absent from school

 

If your child will not be attending school for any reason, it is important that a parent/carer informs school immediately of any absence. Parents can contact us in person, telephone the school office on 01902 558284, email dovecotesprimaryschool@wolverhampton.gov.uk or send a text or Whatsapp message to 07979922937. If we do not know the reason for a child being away from school then the absence is regarded as unauthorised.

 

If your child has sickness or diarrhoea we ask that he/she does not return to school for 48 hours as this kind of illness can be very infectious. 

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The Designated Senior Leader responsible for attendance is Mrs L Jones.

The School Attendance Officer is Mrs A Doughty
The Education Welfare Officer is S Murden

 

The government and schools realise that it is more expensive to go on holiday during the school holiday period than at other times of the year. However, it is the view of the DfE that a child should be in school for the 39 weeks of the academic year and that holidays in term time, in whatever form, are not considered to be ‘exceptional’ circumstances.

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Holidays are not a good enough reason for taking a child or young person out of school. As such a fixed penalty notice will be issued for any holiday taken in term time of 5 days or more. 

 

Fixed Penalty Notices are:

  • £60 per child per parent if paid within 21 days of the issue of the notice

  • £120 per child per parent if paid between 21 and 28 days of the issue of the notice

 

The headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to a pupil during term time if they consider there to be 'exceptional circumstances'.

 

We define ‘exceptional’ circumstances and so valid reasons for authorised absence to be:  

  • Bereavement 

  • Serious illness and medical/dental appointments 

  • Religious observance – where the day is exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the pupil’s parents belong.  If necessary, the school will seek advice from the parents’ religious body to confirm whether the day is set apart 

  • Significant events such as a family wedding. 

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Our Targets in Attendance  


Our school expects all children to have an attendance greater than 96%. An attendance of less than 90% will be considered a persistent absence and 50% or more will be considered a severe absence.  

Further action will be taken and legal action will be pursued where necessary. 

 

The Impact of Non-Attendance
 

  • Perfection (100% Attendance)

    • 190 school days

    • Gives your child the best chance of success and gets them off to a flying start. 
       

  • Good (96%)

    • 183 school days = 7 days absence

    • Gives your child a great chance of success. 
       

  • Worrying (90%)

    • 171 school days = 4 weeks missed 

    • Persistent absence. Less chance of success. Makes it harder to achieve good progress. 
       

  • Serious concern (85%)

    • 161 school days = 6 weeks or half a term missed 

    • Learning and progress is seriously affected. Could lead to court action.

 

Did you Know?  


If you take a two week holiday during term time your child’s attendance will automatically be reduced to less than 95%. A two week holiday each year in primary school means a total of 14 weeks teaching time missed. This is the equivalent of a whole term and can have a real impact on your child’s literacy and numeracy skills. 

 

For attendance related information, please view our Attendance and Punctuality Policy on our Policies page.

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Punctuality


The school day begins promptly at 8.55am. Please ensure your child is not late for school. Children who are late will be marked late in the register. Any late attendance is recorded on the end of year school reports to parents. 

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