Attendance Procedure
Our whole school approach to attendance and punctuality
At Five Acres, we have the highest aspirations for your children, and we are committed to enabling all of our children to achieve and sustain the highest level of attendance, believing that every lesson counts.
We know that you want your children to get on well in life. Children only get one chance at school, and your child’s chances of a successful future may be affected by not attending school every day on time.
When children do not attend or are late, they may:
- struggle to keep up with school work
- miss out on the social side of school life, especially at primary school; poor attendance can affect children’s ability to make and keep friendships, which is a vital part of growing up
- experience anxiety about returning to school after a period of absence or when arriving late
How does school absence impact on your child’s attendance percentages?
Number of days absent from school
Child’s attendance at the end of the year
If your child has 1 day off school during the year…their attendance will be 99.5%
If your child has 2 days off school during the year…their attendance will be 99%
If your child has 5 days off school during the year…their attendance will be 97.4%
If your child has 10 days off school during the year …their attendance will be 95%
If your child has 15 days off school during the year …their attendance will be 92.4%
If your child has 20 or more days off school during the year…their attendance will be 90% or below
Number of minutes late every day
Days lost over the year
If your child is 5 minutes late every day…they will lose 3 days of school
If your child is 10 minutes late every day…they will lose 6.5 days of school
If your child is 15 minutes late every day …they will lose 10 days of school
If your child is 20 minutes late every day …they will lose 13 days of school
If your child is 25 minutes late every day …they will lose 19 days of school
Many parents are surprised how quickly their children accumulate 15 days of absence. We will ensure we keep you informed about your child’s attendance through phone calls, letters and during parent meetings.
What does the law say?
By law, all children of compulsory school age must get a suitable, full-time education. As a parent/carer, you are responsible for making sure this happens. Once your child is registered at Five Acres, you are responsible for making sure they attend regularly and we will support you to do this by working in partnership with you. At Five Acres, we aim for 100% attendance; the Department for Education sets a minimum expectation of 96% for each child for each school year. We know that things happen – children do get poorly and things sometimes happen in families which affect attendance. Should your child’s attendance fall below 92% our team will contact you, and your child’s attendance will be monitored.
What about absences?
There may be times when your child has to miss school because they are ill or for other circumstances. Please notify us of this on the first day (and every subsequent day) of absence. If we do not hear from you on the first day of absence, we are obliged to follow up immediately to ensure the safety of all children, and we have a process for this. Please ensure you give detailed, specific reasons for absence otherwise we may not be able to authorise the absence.
What can you do to help?
- Make sure your child arrives at school on time every day.
- Ask your child about their day and praise and encourage their achievements at school.
- If you think you might need to take your child out of school, discuss the reasons with the school as early as possible.
- If your child is ill or absent for any other reason, contact the school on the first day of absence – you can either phone the school on 01865 253193 or email office.2200@five-acres.oxon.sch.uk
- Follow the school’s procedures for notifying absence, and always let the school know of any days that your child is unable to attend.
- If for any reason your child seems unwilling to come to school or is unhappy at school (which may include things such as friendship issues or difficulties with school work), please contact us as soon as possible so that we can work with you to resolve any difficulties.