Attendance

Attendance matters... please ensure your child attends school regularly. We are all ill from time to time, especially children but we do administer medicine in school but it has to be prescribed by a doctor. You will also need to call into reception to complete a medical form.

If your child has diarrhoea and/or sickness they cannot return to school until 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or sickness.

If you are unsure of your child's illness, please consult your doctor.

 

If you are taking your child out of school for a holiday during term time, you will need to email admin@stthomasfeatherstone.co.uk will full details. Please note that all holiday's taken in term time are unauthorised and our Educational Welfare Officer will issue fines to parents for children taken on holiday during school time.

 

The 1996 Education Act states, ‘If a child is registered at school, parents have the legal responsibility for ensuring that their child attends regularly’.

 

At St Thomas CE (VC) Junior School, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children. Irregular attendance undermines the learning process and can lead to educational and social disadvantage. We believe that if students are to benefit from education, good attendance is crucial.

 While some absences are inevitable, we are committed to reducing absence down to the lowest possible levels. This can be achieved through a balance of rewarding good attendance and supporting families where attendance and punctuality are problematic.

This drive to improve attendance will mean that there is a change in how we will respond to term time holidays. From September 2023, term time holidays will not be authorised and a penalty notice may be issued by Wakefield Council for any incidences of 10 or more unauthorised absence. This will bring us in line with government guidance. 

 Our reasons for promoting this policy are based solely on the evidence that good attendance, good progress and improved life opportunities are irrefutably linked. We do not receive any financial benefit from this policy. Penalties are processed by Wakefield Council through the courts and any monies paid are retained by the council.

 

 

Outstanding attendance

Blue:  98%-100%

 

The best chance of success.

 

Good attendance

Green: 95% – 97.9%

 

Worrying attendance

Amber: 90% - 94.9%

Less chance of success because of periods of lost learning time.

Makes it harder to progress well.

Serious Concerns attendance Red: below 90%

about

Significant lost learning time.

 

 

Please see relevant documents in the links below:

Leave of absence requests for parents

Wakefield Schools Attendance Policy

Wakefield School Attendance Strategy (summary leaflet)

Wakefield School Attendance Strategy (in full)