Attendance

 
Handsworth Primary School seeks to ensure that all its pupils receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each pupil to realise their true potential. The school will strive to provide a welcoming, caring environment, whereby each member of the school community feels wanted and secure. All school staff will work with pupils and their families to ensure each pupil attends school regularly and punctually.
 
At Handsworth, we regularly monitor the attendance and punctuality of all pupils. The Dfe states that 96% attendance is good attendance, below 90% is persistent absence which can lead to a fine.
 
Missing a few days of school here and there may not seem a big deal, but research shows that it can have a significant impact on children's learning. Children who miss a substantial amount of school fall behind their peers in all areas, and struggle to catch up. All absence, including approved absence such as medical appointments, counts towards the overall attendance percentage. 
 
What we ask our parents and carers to do:

• Ensure their child attends every day the school is open
• Notify the school before 08:40 if their child has to be unexpectedly absent (e.g. sickness), this can be done online, by phone or in person in the office
• Only request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and do so in advance, fill in the form on the website or ask the office for a form
• Book any medical appointments around the school day wherever possible, let the office know in advance of appointments

 
We will:

• Develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of good attendance
• Accurately maintain attendance registers
• Have robust daily processes to follow-up absence

• Offer support to improve attendance
• Have a dedicated senior leader with overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance
• We will take a proactive approach and contact parents and carers if attendance falls below 93%
• Contact you if your child falls into persistent absence
• Work with the Local Authority to improve attendance

 
Handsworth operates a soft start, children can arrive from 8.35am. The register is taken at 8.50am. If you arrive after this time please come to the office to sign in. Your child will be marked as L for late. If they arrive after 9.30am they will be marked as U, this is classed as an unauthorised absence for the morning session and will affect their attendance.


 
 
It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school or nursery when they're unwell. At Handsworth we follow NHS guidelines regarding illnesses. For full guidelines check the NHS website. During the winter months there are lots of virus’ that children can easily pick up but most of the time they can still attend school. The office can administer medicines with written permission when necessary.

We trust your judgement as a parent to use common sense on whether your child is too ill to attend school. Use the information below to help make your decision. If there are any concerns please contact your doctor or the NHS advice service 111.