Attendance

It is very important for children to attend school every day. Research shows that to develop the habit of regularly going to school, a routine starts in the first years of school. By regularly going to school, your child and your family gets to know the teacher, other children and families. The more you are involved in your child’s learning the more we can work together to support your child and make sure they get the best start to school.

Attending regularly helps your child develop a sense of belonging and connection to school.

Children at our school want to come to school because:

it helps them have a good future
they learn new things and skills
it prepares them for the next stage of their education (secondary school)
they get to play with their friends
it helps build their confidence
it helps them grow and make informed decisions
to take part in team activities
to prepare them for the future
to learn about themselves.

attendance

Did you know that the attendance habits set by children when they first start school continue throughout their school life. Learning is cumulative; if your child regularly misses school, it is harder for them to catch up.

A question we hear from some of our parents here at Goldsmith is: What if my child doesn’t want to go to school?

If this is the case with your child, please speak with the teacher or someone from the school as soon as possible, to get advice and support. We want to work with you and your child to offer the best possible school experience, not just so we can achieve our academic potential, but also unlock our emotional and social potential.

Did you know that getting your children to school on time is a good habit and benefits your child for a lifetime. Imagine that you were late attending school by just 5 minutes every day, that is the equivalent of over 3 days lost in the school year. That’s a lot of learning time for your child. By being late by just 10 minutes every day for a year adds up to 31 hours – that’s over six full days of learning lost to your child!

100% attendance means zero days of learning being missed, which means that your child has a better chance of success.

Figures from local council’s in the UK suggest that unauthorised absences, such as holidays during school term time, can also have a major impact on your child’s development and learning. A very poor attendance record will, and does, have a significant impact on learning. Not to mention you, as a parent, being at risk of receiving a penalty notice.

When you consider the average school year is around 190 days long, it really isn’t a lot of time to commit to ensuring your child has every chance of future success through learning during the school year. They will also learn important social and communication skills during this time.

What can you do to help your child?

Developing the habit of going to school regularly from Goldilocks upwards, is vital so your child does not miss out on important ideas and skills they need for future learning.

You can help by:

talking positively about school so your child is happy to go each day
setting start and finish times for breakfast or bringing your child to our free breakfast club at 8am each day
setting times and a routine for going to, and getting out of, bed and getting enough sleep each night
encouraging your child to have their school uniform and school bag ready the night before
spending some time each day together, reading for enjoyment and talking about what happened in their day.

How to report and absence

If your child is not well enough to attend school, please call the school office on 01922 710182 opt 1 or 07471030288, between 8am and 8.45am, specifying the reason for the absence.

If the absence lasts longer than one day, you will need to call the school office on each day of the absence. Where a pupils attendance has fallen below the school target or a pattern of non-attendance is identified, home visits will be carried out even if a reason has been given.

If you are not able to contact Mr Baker by telephone, please email student absence at studentabsence@goldsmith.windsoracademytrust.org.uk

Mr Baker or a member of the Family Support Team will contact you via telephone to discuss your child’s absence.

Is my child ok to attend school?

Not all illnesses require your child to take time off school. Please contact school to discuss the symptoms your child is displaying. You will be advised based on the information you provide in line with School Exclusions and Health Protection for School Facilities.

We are able to help support your child’s illness and medical needs in school and have trained members of staff who can administer medication. If your child requires medication, medical care or a risk assessment following an ongoing illness or injury, please contact the main office to complete the appropriate forms. Goldsmith Primary Academy likes to give all our pupils every opportunity to maximise their primary school experience and we will work with our families to help support and overcome any barriers.

Please only keep your child home if necessary.

Illness	Should my child still come to school?
Conjunctivitis	Yes.
Hand, Foot and Mouth	Yes.
Head Lice	Yes.
Vomiting	Yes, but only if the vomiting has happened once.
Slapped Cheek	Yes.
Threadworms	Yes.
Diarrhoea and Vomiting	No. Your child should remain off school for 48 hours from the last episode.
Scarlet Fever	No. Your child should remain off school until 24 hours after starting antibiotics.
Tonsilitis	Yes.
Chicken Pox	No. Your child can return when all spots are crusted over.
Impetigo	No. Your child can return when lesions are crusted and healed or 48 hours after starting antibiotics.

Our approach to attendance

All children should aim for 100% attendance and a minimum of 97% attendance is expected. If attendance falls below this, it can have a significant impact on the number of lessons missed, which then impacts progress and achievement.

The table below shows our approach to dealing with attendance that falls below the expected level.

Attendance level	What happens?
Below 97%	Child identified by the Attendance Officer and monitored closely. Class teacher to raise concerns or patterns of non-attendance to Attendance Officer. Class teacher sends MME notifying home of fall in attendance and the impact this has on their learning. Medical evidence required to authorise absence for illness.
Below 95%	Child identified by the Attendance Officer and monitored closely. Identified child discussed in wider pastoral meetings where relevant support is sign posted. (Early Help) Meeting at school with Attendance Officer. Support plan and targets to help improve attendance agreed. Explore reasons for absences and refer to relevant external services. Monthly parent meetings.
Below 93%	Child identified tracked by the Attendance Officer and Pastoral team and monitored closely. First day absence home visits. Attendance monitored daily. Weekly pupil meeting for targeted pupils. Meeting at school with Attendance Officer. Support plan adapted to improve attendance as at risk of becoming classified of as persistent absence.
Below 90%	In addition to the above; Child now categorised as persistent absence. Attendance monitored daily. Meeting at school with Attendance Officer and Walsall Council's attendance officer to discuss case next steps

Attendance competitions

We like to celebrate everything our children accomplish at Goldsmith Primary and we give all children the opportunity to celebrate their attendance.

We do termly prizes based on your child’s weekly attendance – the more your children attends school the greater their chances are of winning a prize. Keep your eye peeled for posters around the school and via ParentMail.

We also do a weekly class league table. Every week, each class will earn points based on the overall class attendance.

By doing a weekly league table, we are able to include those pupils who may require time off school due to reasons beyond their control.

Nerf Wars 20.03.2024