Attendance
At Nelson Infant School we place great importance on good attendance and punctuality. Please support the school in this by ensuring that your child attends school regularly and arrives ready to learn and on time.
For a child to reach their full educational achievement a high level of school attendance is essential. There is a clear and proven link between low attendance and academic outcomes with pupils who regularly miss out on learning at risk of falling significantly behind their peers. Children who attend frequently are also more likely to build strong, positive friendships. We promote good attendance through class and individual awards.
Our attendance target for all children is to be in school for 96% of the school year. We monitor attendance and contact parents when attendance has fallen, even when there are genuine reasons for absence. We understand that unforeseen circumstances may arise, and there might be genuine reasons for absences including illness. However, it is essential to emphasise the importance of consistent attendance. We want to work with you to address any barriers to school attendance. If attendance remains a concern, you may be invited to meet with the school Attendance Lead to discuss the issues further and create an Attendance Support Plan together.
Our Attendance Team
Our Senior Attendance Champion is Anna Catlin. Carly Green works with families to improve attendance. If you are having difficulties regarding attendance, please talk to a member of school staff. We want to work together to ensure your child attends regularly.
Reporting absence
Parent/carers must inform the school office between 7:45 - 8:30am on each day of their child’s absence by calling the school office on 01603 620344.
If a child is absent from school without a reason being provided, the office staff will contact parent/carers to ascertain the reasons for any absences.
Reporting lateness
If your child arrives after 8.30am they must enter via the main entrance on Northumberland Street and report to the office, a member of staff will then escort them to their classroom.
If you know you child will be late please call the school office on 01603 620344.
Persistent lateness will have an impact on your child’s attendance.
Illness & Medical Appointments
Whenever possible we encourage parent/carers to provide supporting medical evidence for any absence relating to illness or medical appointments. We are not necessarily looking for a letter from your doctor which may be chargeable to you, but medical evidence such as an appointment card/text or a prescription record. We always advise appointments to be taken out of school hours whenever possible. Headlice is often an issue in primary schools - please note headlice is not a valid reason to be absent from school and will be unauthorised.
Click on the PDF below to view our illness guide:
Illnesses guide (Autosaved).pdf
Please scroll down to find links to our legal attendance letter and medicine form.
Illness & Medication/Inhalers at school
If your child is unwell at school, we will contact you via phone to come and collect them, IT IS VITAL WE ALWAYS HAVE YOUR MOST UP TO DATE CONTACT NUMBERS.
The school will also contact you if your child has had a bump to the head or facial injury at school. Depending on the severity and action taken/required, this will either be via school ping or phone call.
Medication, either prescribed or over the counter can be administered at school as long as a consent form is completed by a parent/carer (form below).
Inhalers need to be in date, clearly labelled and a spacer provided if necessary. These will be kept in your child’s classroom for quick access. An asthma form will need to be completed and returned to the school office (form below).
Term time leave
Holidays in term time can not be authorised.
Permission for term-time absence will only be authorised if there are exceptional circumstances. An application must be made in advance and the headteacher must be satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case which warrant the leave.
If a leave of absence is granted, the headteacher will determine the number of days a pupil can be away from school. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the head teacher’s discretion. If the school does not receive a request for leave, the head teacher will be unable to consider your individual circumstances and the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
Fixed Penalty Notices
There is a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence. The 10-school week period can span different terms or school years. Penalty Notice Fines are issued to each parent, for each child that was absent. For example: 3 siblings absent for term time leave, would result in each parent receiving 3 separate fines.
Parents and guardians are legally required to ensure their children are in school every day. When parents have not engaged with Attendance Support offered by the school or attendance has failed to improve, this can result in referring the matter to the local authority for legal sanctions.
Individual Health Care Plans
If your child has an individual medical need the school needs to be aware of, such as diabetes, severe food allergy, please contact our SENco via email senco@nelsoninfant.org.uk.
Attendance of all children at Nelson Infant school is regularly monitored internally by office/SLT staff and externally by an Attendance Officer. If poor attendance is significant, parents will be contacted asking them to meet with a school representative to discuss the issue and action a plan together to improve attendance.
fpn guidance for parents legal letter 5 .pdf
attendance procedures appendix a .pdf