Our Lady and St Joseph's

Attendance

Every moment counts

We want our pupils to benefit from the highest quality education to enable them to excel. We know that pupils who attend well have the best chances of success academically and socially. They are more likely to achieve well in examinations and assessments and more likely to form secure and lasting friendships.

This can only be achieved it pupils are in school regularly, and on time.

We have a meticulously planned curriculum which sets out exactly what pupils should be taught at every stage of the year. When pupils are absent, they risk developing large gaps in their learning.

Excellent attendance is everyone’s business and improving attendance is in everyone’s interests. We aim to secure good attendance by building strong relationships with pupils, parents and carers so that we can support them to reduce any barriers to school attendance.

New Attendance Rules Parents/Carers Need to Know for September 2024

• New Attendance Rules Parents Need to Know for September 2024

At Our Lady and St Joseph’s we believe we offer a supportive approach to attendance and encourage our families to contact us should there be any barriers to your child arriving at school on time every day. From September 2024 and the new rules around attendance please ensure you read the following and review any holiday plans during term-time you may have as a family.

New Attendance Rules Parents Need to Know for September 2024

You will know that if a child misses just one day of school, that is one day’s worth of education lost. If it’s more than one day, those losses will be cumulative and the effect on long-term prospects could not be more damaging. Prior to Covid, absenteeism had been on the decline, but since the lockdowns, it appears attitudes towards attendance have changed and we are now seeing a steep increase in absenteeism once again – around 380,000 fewer pupils were persistently off school last year than the year before. This does not take into account the number of children not attending school due to SEND/SEMH.

Ministers have now published guidance on managing school attendance that will become mandatory from September 2024. Here’s what you need to know.

£80 Fines and Improvement Notices

Absence fines charged to parents will rise from £60 to £80, or £160 if not paid within 21 days.  From Autumn term 2024, only two fines can be issued to the same parent for the same child within a three-year rolling period. Any notice thereafter will automatically be charged at £160.  Parents will also receive “improvement notices”, where they are informed that this is their last opportunity to engage with education and improve their child’s attendance before a fine is issued.

National Fine Thresholds

From September, schools will have to consider a fine if a pupil misses 10 sessions (half days) of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. They should “not have a blanket position of issuing or not issuing penalty notices”. The threshold can be met with “any combination of unauthorised absence”. For example, four sessions in term time plus six instances of arriving late.

Long-Term Sickness to be flagged with Local Authorities

Schools will have to give councils the name and address of sick pupils who they believe will miss 15 consecutive or cumulative days. Schools will also be “expected to inform a pupil’s social worker if there are unexplained absences from school”.

Mental Health Awareness

All schools should now be particularly mindful of pupils absent from school due to mental or physical ill health or their special educational needs and/or disabilities and provide them with additional support.

The guidance acknowledges “many children will experience normal but difficult emotions that make them nervous about attending school, such as worries about friendships, schoolwork, examinations or variable moods”. But it is “important to note that these pupils are still expected to attend school regularly”.

Working together to improve school attendance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Fines for parents for taking children out of school: What you need to know – The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)