Attendance Rewards

As a school, we love to celebrate student success! Every half-term, term, and academic year,we will recognise students who achieve 100% attendance, as well as those who demonstrate significant individual improvement. We believe that every child should have the opportunity to participate in these celebrations, whether for a single half-term boost or sustained success across a term or the whole year.

Attendance Monitoring Process

At 90% the Department for Education (DfE) categorises students as “persistently absent”. As a school, we want to do everything we can to prevent students slipping into this category. Our school uses a rigorous attendance monitoring procedure to better track attendance and

support families. This works as follows:

If your child’s attendance drops below 93% we will begin to monitor their attendance in line with our attendance pathway. If there is further absence following this monitoring period the attendance team will be in contact to offer support. If further absence occurs this will lead to a meeting with a senior leader in school to provide a graduated level of support.

These steps are in place to help support you and your child early, ensuring we work together to remove any barriers to attendance and avoid formal Local Authority involvement. At every stage, we welcome parents/carers to discuss with us how we can help support your child’s attendance.

Home Visits

As part of our standard attendance and safeguarding procedures, school staff routinely undertake home visits. They are intended as a supportive intervention, offering an opportunity for our attendance team to speak directly with parents and students to identify any barriers and discuss how we can support students returning to school. These visits may be pre-arranged or unannounced.

Holidays During Term Time

We kindly ask that you do not book holidays during school time. The law does not allow this. If there are exceptional reasons why your child needs time off, you must write to the headteacher in advance with the details. Please note that absences during term time are extremely rare and will only be authorised under the most exceptional circumstances. A referral will be made to the Local Authority which could lead to a fine of £80 per parent per child, rising to £160 if not paid within 28 days. Failure to pay may result in further legal action.

Arriving to School on Time

Being on time is an important skill. Students should arrive between 08.30am and 08.45am. If they arrive after this time, they will need to enter via the main reception. If your child arrives after 9:15am, they will be marked absent for the morning.

Reporting an Absence

 We understand that sometimes your child may need to miss school when they are too ill to attend. Please report this by contacting school with your child's name, reason for absence, and when they will return. You can report this by calling the school on 0114 2872432 or emailing office@astonlodgeprimary.org

There is nothing more important than the partnership between child, family and school. Working together we can ensure all our students have good attendance in order for them to make progress equal to their ability, engage in positive relationships with their peers and develop the personal attributes to ensure they are ready, able and qualified to play their part in the wider world.

Thank you for your continued support.