Attendance & Absence

Regular attendance is a fundamental pillar of education. It plays a pivotal role in shaping academic success, personal growth, and prospects. Here at Wheatfield Primary School and Nursery, we are committed to transforming educational achievement and providing pupils with the best start in life academically and as citizens. We promote the importance of pupils attending school on every day possible and recognise that daily attendance is crucial to success. It is the responsibility of all stakeholders across our school community – parents/carers, staff, governors, and pupils – to work together to ensure that every pupil and their family has the support and strategies required to attend school daily.

 

Punctuality 

We always encourage punctuality at Wheatfield Primary School, as being on time is important because it:

• Helps children settle into the school day well, with everybody else

• Helps children make and keep friends

• Improves self-confidence

• Class teachers often include learning activities and sessions during registration

The start of the school day is as follows:

8.40am -  Gates open for children to start their arrival at school

8.50am - All children to be in class to begin registration

3.25pm - End of school

Note: Children are welcome in class from 8.40am.  An absence mark is given if arrival is after 9am.  If they arrive after registration, parents / carers should sign their child in at the school office.

If a pupil arrives at 9.30 or later, after the close of all registers, the sign-in code will constitute as an absence and negatively impact a pupil’s attendance record. Arriving at school late is disruptive to a pupil’s daily routine and means that they miss a considerable amount of valuable learning time.

Minutes late per day = lost learning time:

5 minutes = 3.4 school days per year

10 minutes = 6.9 school days per year

15 minutes = 10.3 school days per year

20 minutes = 13.8 school days per year

30 minutes = 20.7 school days per year

 

Procedure for Reporting Absences from School

If your child is not well or if you have a planned reason why your child cannot attend school, please inform the school at the earliest opportunity. Absence can be reported in the following ways:

• ParentMail App - Using the Absence tab

• Email - Sent to the School Office email address (info@wheatfieldschool.org)

• Telephone message - Telephone messages will be recorded by the answerphone and subsequently checked against the class register

Wheatfield Primary school requires a daily message to be received by 9am (or as early as possible) from parents and carers.

Absences from school can have a direct impact upon a child’s academic and social development due to lost learning time. We recognise that in our busy lives, it can become easy to lose track of the number of days that a child is absent over the school year, however daily attendance is vital to ensure that all children have the best opportunities to flourish and succeed.

Attendance during one school year                Number of lost learning days

95%                                                                9 days

90%                                                               19 days

85%                                                               29 days

80%                                                               38 days

 

Safeguarding children

Home visits are conducted as a standard protocol to families to follow-up on pupil absences and provide support to pupils and parents/carers where appropriate. The school has a duty to safeguard the welfare of all students. Any concerns about a child’s attendance will be investigated promptly to ensure support for their wellbeing. If there are unexplained/prolonged periods of absence or an identified safeguarding concern, this may require school to contact external agencies.

 

Leave of Absence During Term Time

• Parents and carers must request any planned leave of absence for exceptional circumstances in writing prior to the intended absence of their child. Requests will be reviewed, and a decision made as to whether the absence will be authorised or unauthorised

• The school holiday dates are published in advance and we therefore do not see any reason for parents and carers to need to take their children out of school during term time.

• In line with Department for Education (2024) regulations, holidays or absences for leisure and recreation would not constitute as exceptional circumstances.

• Please note that failure to comply with this procedure may result in an unauthorised absence being recorded and the Educational Welfare Officer being informed.

• As per the National Framework for Penalty Notices (2024), parents and carers may be issued with a fixed penalty notice or legal sanction if a pupil is absent due to unauthorised leave during term time.

 

Attendance support

Parents and carers are invited to contact the school if they wish to discuss their child’s attendance further or seek additional support at any time.

Our school Attendance Lead: Heidi Ray

Our school Senior Leader and Champion for Attendance is Craig Smith

Please contact us on 0118 9896950 to initially speak with a member of our attendance team, or email: info@wheatfieldschool.org.

 

Attendance recognition

Our approach promotes recognition of personal and collective achievements, fostering 28 positive environments and developing intrinsic motivation. Recognition may be in the form of verbal conversations; celebrations; postcards; or text message communication. Through our rich curriculum offer, we strive to instil values within our pupils which support them to become successful citizens of the future and promote that school attendance is a key component to this success.

 

Signing in/out procedure

• Any child arriving at school after 9am will have missed the morning registration mark and must be signed in by their parent or carer at the School Office, and a reason must be given for the late arrival.

• Any child who has to leave school during school hours for a medical appointment or for any other reason parents must inform the School Office as soon as possible.

• All children leaving school during the school day must be signed out at the School Office by their parent or carer.

 

Dental and medical appointments

Parents and carers are asked not to arrange these during school sessions, except in cases of emergency, so that the impact on their school work is avoided. Please do not keep children out of school for the whole day unless absolutely necessary.

 

Medicine

If your child requires medicine to be administered during the school day, including self-administered medication such as inhalers, a form must be completed to accompany the medicine. We can only accept prescription medicine. Medicines must be in the original container as dispensed by the pharmacy. Any type of medicine must come through the school office to enable relevant forms to be completed.  

Wheatfield Primary School will seek to support, any child that has a medical condition to ensure his or her health and safety, welfare and inclusion in school life. Whenever possible parents should administer medicines to their child at home or by visiting the school during the day. Where the school accepts responsibility to administer medicine parents will be required to complete a form giving consent and clear instructions.

Please see our supporting children with medical conditions policy below.