Attendance
Attendance
West Wycombe School is committed to providing the best educational experience for all children and good attendance and punctuality is critical to this outcome.
Each academic year has 190 school days, this leaves 175 non-school days for family time, holidays, visits and appointments.
If a pupil is absent for just 1 day each term that equals 6 days or 39 hours a year of lost learning.
Every Day Counts!
It is vital that pupils attend school, on time, every day in order to gain the greatest benefit from their education.
Attendance
The school gate is opened at 8.30am and registration takes place at 8.55am and school finishes at 3.15pm.
We expect pupils to arrive and to be collected punctually at the start and end of each day. If your child arrives after 8.55am they will be recorded in the registers as late.
Persistent lateness, 10 or more recorded late marks in one half term, will result in a request for a parental meeting to discuss any support the school can offer to improve punctuality.
If your child arrives after 9.30am it will be recorded as unauthorised. We will work with the Attendance Service for those children who are recorded as having unauthorised absence, due to lateness after registers close, three or more times in one half term period.
Absence
If your child is significantly unwell and unable to attend school, we request that parents/carers telephone the school office or contact us through the school app on each and every day of the absence, before 8.45am and clearly state the reason for their absence.
Where possible, we ask that medical appointments are arranged outside of the school day. Where this is not possible, please bring the appointment letter/card to the school office in advance.
Requests for holiday
There is no automatic entitlement, in law, to time off during term time.
All requests for a leave of absence must be, by law, made in writing and in advance. As a school, we request parents use the ‘Holiday Request Form’ which is available from the school office or from the link below. Holiday requests are only authorised in exceptional circumstances. If you choose to remove your child from school when the request has been denied it will be recorded as unauthorised and the school may request the Local Authority issue a penalty notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is a good attendance percentage?
A. The school’s attendance target for all our pupils is a minimum of 95%. The National Average Attendance for a child at Primary School is 95%
Q. Why is attendance important?
A. If your child is of compulsory school age and is registered at a school, it is essential that they attend. Excellent attendance at school is important to allow a child to fulfil their potential.
Q. What is poor attendance?
A. Anything below 95% attendance is worrying as your child has missed more than 8 days of school, resulting in a lower chance of achievement. It makes it harder for the child to progress if they are missing key learning opportunities.
Q. What impact will low attendance have on my child?
A. Low attendance will impact on your child in many ways; educationally and socially. Pupils who have low attendance are more likely to become isolated from their social group and underachieve academically.
Q. What will happen if my child's attendance falls below 95%?
A. We monitor pupil attendance half termly You may be sent a letter to inform you of the attendance percentage and you may be invited to a School Attendance Meeting at the school.
Q. Isn't my child entitled to 10 days holiday days a year?
A. No. The School can only authorise an absence in exceptional circumstances. Remember there are 175 non-school days per academic year to spend on family time, visits, holidays and appointments etc.
Q. What is meant by ‘genuine medical reasons’?
A. Diarrhoea, sickness, childhood illnesses e.g. measles, chicken pox, extremely high temperatures, are genuine illnesses. Children should not stay home if they have minor coughs, colds, tummy aches and headaches. If your child is too poorly to remain at the school, the school will contact you to collect them.
If your child has a specific hospital appointment, the appointment letter must be brought into school in advance. However, where possible we ask if you could arrange appointments out of the school day. Please remember that even absence due to genuine medical reasons still affect a child's attendance.
Q. What should I do if my child is absent?
A. Contact the school before 8.45am on the first day and every subsequent day of absence to explain their reasons.
REMEMBER EVERY SCHOOL DAY COUNTS TOWARDS YOUR CHILD'S SUCCESS- thank you for your support in increasing attendance.
Page last updated: 20/11/23