Attendance & Punctuality

At our school, we believe that strong attendance is the foundation of every child’s learning and development. Being in school regularly helps children make the most of their education, supports their wellbeing, and enables them to build positive habits that will benefit them throughout life.

We follow the Department for Education’s Working Together to Improve School Attendance guidance to ensure our approach is clear, consistent and supportive. You can find further information in the links below.

Why Attendance Matters

Good attendance has a significant and positive impact on children. When pupils attend school consistently, they are more likely to:

• clear link between attendance and academic achievement — the more time children spend in school, the better their outcomes.

• develop strong social and emotional skills
• build confidence and resilience
• enjoy a sense of belonging within the school community

• good attendance supports strong friendships, helping children feel connected, confident, and part of the school community.

When attendance drops, learning is disrupted. Persistent absence or regular lateness can make it harder for children to keep up with their work and can affect overall progress.

Your Role as Parents and Carers

Parents and carers have a legal duty to ensure their child receives a suitable, full-time education. This includes making sure your child:

• attends school every day (unless there is a valid reason not to)
• arrives on time and ready to learn

Establishing good routines from the start helps children develop positive habits and understand the importance of being punctual and present.

Reporting an Absence

If your child is unable to attend school, please inform us as soon as possible. Absences can be reported by phone:: 07540686882 (attendance mobile number) or school number: 01843227575, email: attendance@cliftonvilleprimary.co.uk 

through the Arbor app, or by speaking to a member of staff.

Why Daily Contact Matters

For safeguarding reasons, we must know the reason for a child’s absence each day they are not in school. This ensures we can account for every pupil and keep them safe.

If We Have Not Received an Absence Message

If we don’t hear from a parent or carer, we will begin our safeguarding procedure. This includes:

1. A message via Arbor app sent in the morning.
2. A follow‑up Arbor message in the afternoon if we have not had any contact.
3. Taking further action if we are still concerned

Where we are unable to reach you, or if there are safeguarding worries, we may carry out a home visit. If necessary, we may also request a welfare check from Children’s Services or the Police to ensure your child is safe.

Our priority is always the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care.

Support From Our Attendance Team

Our Education Attendance Officers, Mrs Saddington and Mrs Hasson, are available each morning between 8:40am and 9:10am at the Wellbeing Hub House. If your child is late or you would like to discuss attendance, wellbeing, or support, please come and speak with them or a member of our pastoral team. We offer a range of support to help families improve attendance, and we encourage you to drop in for a chat.

Is my child too ill for school?

Children with a mild illness will often be well enough to attend school - for example if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature.  The NHS guidance Is my child too ill for school? - is designed to support parents in their decision making about mild illness.

Is my child too ill for school?

Attendance records

There are several codes in use for recording attendance and absences.  There are two sessions each day, morning and afternoon and each session is recorded with a code.  Here are the most common codes used:

M - Appointment with a doctor or dentist, etc

I - Genuine Illness

G - Unauthorised Leave of Absence

O - Unauthorised Absence

L - Late before the register closes

U - Late after the registers close.  This counts as an unauthorised absence.

It really is essential that you let us know the reason for absence so we can code accurately. 

Medical or dentist appointment

Medical appointments, should where possible, be made outside school hours.  When this is unavoidable, your child should be in school for the remainder of the school day, whether before or/and after the appointment.  Supporting evidence of the appointment should be given to the school office.

Holiday & Leave of Absence

There is no legal entitlement to holidays or leave of absence during term time.

A leave of absence can only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.  Holidays are not deemed to be exceptional circumstances and therefore will not be authorised.  If you wish to take your child out of school for any purpose a Leave of Absence form should be submitted, stating the dates and reason for absence.  This is available to collect from the school office.  Any requests must be made in advance of the absence.

Lateness

Good attendance includes arriving at school on time each day. When children are late, they can miss important introductions to lessons, feel unsettled, or worry about joining the class after learning has already begun. Establishing punctuality from an early age helps children develop strong routines and an essential life skill they will use throughout their lives.

If your child arrives after their time slot for their year group (see timings below) , please bring them to the Wellbeing Hub House up to 9.10am. After this time please take them to main reception.

What happens if we are worried about your child's school attendance?

We monitor all children's attendance very closely and will alert parents by letter or phone call when we notice children's attendance start to slip.  This could be due to leave of absence or illness.

We set ambitious expectations for attendance because we want the very best outcomes for every child. Where attendance does not improve, despite the high level of support we provide, we may be required to issue Penalty Notice fines for unauthorised absence.