Attendance and Punctuality

At our school, we believe that every child’s presence matters. Coming to school regularly and on time is not just about learning—it’s about belonging. When children attend school consistently, they feel part of the rhythm of the day, build stronger friendships, and know that they are a valued member of our school community. Every day counts, and every child matters.

Being punctual helps children start the day feeling calm, settled, and ready to learn. Arriving on time means they can join in with morning routines, connect with their teacher and friends, and ease into the day without feeling rushed or behind. This gentle, predictable start helps children feel safe, focused, and emotionally ready to take on new challenges with confidence.

Good attendance and punctuality also send an important message: you are important, and school is important too. When children know that their school day will start with a warm welcome and a familiar routine, it supports both their learning and their wellbeing. By working together—families and school—we can give every child the best chance to thrive, every single day.

We see the first hour of every day as ‘The Golden Hour’-the time when every child comes through our school gate and is greeted with a smile and a positive word or two and where children walk to their classrooms to be warmly greeted by their classroom teachers every day.  It is the time where we prioritise calling parents of any child who is absent to show how much we care and to encourage children back to school as soon as possible. We have lots of phrases to encourage children to be at school every day as we know how important this is for examples, ‘Be on time, school starts at 9am!’ and ‘Beat the Bell!’.  Ms Anita can often be found ringing the school bell on Gunthorpe Street at 8.55am of a morning!

We focus on working with families to ensure children are in school on time as we know that arriving late to a lesson and missing out on valuable recap of previous learning or the start of new learning can be upsetting for children and detrimental to their learning.

Attendance is monitored daily and we telephone parents for any absent children on the morning of any absence. We ask our parents/carers to telephone us on the morning of any absence too.  We understand that their may be the occasional day where a child might be too unwell to attend school and that is ok of course!  We are however, very mindful that occasional days absent from school can soon add up and mean that for these children, learning is that bit trickier when they return.  So for us, reinforcing brilliant attendance is a must.

It is important for all our children to attend school regularly, including the nursery and reception classes.  We encourage parents/carers to make doctors, dentist and optician appointments for after school or weekends so that children’s learning is not disrupted.  Any learning missed disrupts the children’s memories and this can make catching up difficult.  We ask families to provide the medical card with the time and date for any appointments that cannot be avoided.  Holidays in school time are not allowed.