Attendance

At Cullingworth Village Primary School we have high expectations for attendance and punctuality of all our pupils.

We have an effective whole school attendance strategy which requires commitment from every member of the school community.

Key principles of our strategy include:

Leadership & Management

Relationships & Communication

Systems & Data

Intervention

Mrs L Woffendin (Deputy Headteacher and DSL) is our Senior Attendance Lead in school.
Mrs Macdonald (Pastoral Lead) and the Office team support with attendance.
All staff in school are aware of their role in supporting pupils to have high expectations of attendance and punctuality.

Trusting relationships are built between staff, pupils, families and stakeholders to secure trust and engagement.
We communicate openly and honestly with staff, pupils and families about expectations of attendance.
We liaise effectively with outside agencies working with pupils and families to support attendance.

We closely track and monitor the attendance and punctuality of all pupils to give an accurate picture of attendance and patterns amongst groups.
We provide regular reports to staff to enable them to track the attendance of target pupils.

We monitor and analyse data regularly to ensure early interventions.
We use attendance, pastoral and SEND staff to identify and overcome barriers to absence.
We create action plans in partnership with families and other agencies.
We follow local authority codes of conduct, policies and procedures.

Good Attendance

Good attendance is important because:

Statistics show a direct link between under-achievement and absence below 95%.
Regular attenders make better progress, both socially and academically.
Regular attenders find school routines, school work and friendships easier to cope with.
Regular attenders find learning more satisfying.
Regular attenders are more successful in transitioning between primary school, secondary school, higher education and employment or training.
Attending school regularly safeguards the welfare of children whilst they are not in the care of their parents/carers.

How do we communicate?

At Cullingworth Primary, we communicate regularly and effectively with both parents/carers and pupils about the importance of good attendance in the following ways:

Parents/Carers	Pupils
The School Newsletter, The School Prospectus, Consultation Evening, The School Website, The Attendance and Punctuality Booklet, Letters, phone calls and attendance meetings if attendance or punctuality is a concern.	Achievement Assemblies, Termly certificates - Gold for 100%, Silver 99-98%, Bronze 97% and certificates for those children with the most improved attendance. Class attendance rewards every half term. End of year reward and certificates for children with 100% attendance.

Attendance Matters!

Everyday your child is absent from school is an opportunity missed as it is well known that good school attendance affects a child's success in learning.

The Education Act 1996 states that all pupils should attend school regularly and punctually. Both parents and schools have a shared responsibility to ensure that this happens.

Attending school every day will enable your child to:

Learn new skills,
Make friends and build lasting relationships,
Develop confidence,
Develop good routines.

Punctuality

Good punctuality is essential to help children achieve their full educational potential and it will help them to be punctual later in life.

At our school:

The doors open at 8:40am,
school starts at 8:55am for registration,
School finishes at 3:05pm (3:00pm for Reception).

When children arrive at school regularly late it can:

be embarrassing and affect their confidence,
disrupt learning and lessons,
cause them to fall behind,
create bad habits.

What you can do to help!

Aim for 10 hours of sleep per night for your child as this will make the following day at school much easier for them to cope with.
Make sure your child eats breakfast as this helps them stay alert at school.
Help your child to develop good night time routines by checking their homework, reading, getting their school bag ready for the next day and going to bed at a reasonable time.
Try and make any medical/dental appointments for after the school day.
Never take holidays during term time.
If you know your child is going to be absent from school on a particular day, please let us know.
If your child is ill, ring the school as soon as possible on the first day of their absence.