Attendance is a focus for Glenfield and Hamwic Education Trust. We believe that for a child to reach their full educational achievement a high level of school attendance is essential. We are committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all our pupils and endeavour to provide an environment where all pupils feel valued and welcome. Parents/ Carers and pupils play a part in making our school so successful. Every child has a right to access the education to which he/she is entitled. Parents/carers and teachers share the responsibility for supporting and promoting excellent school attendance and punctuality for all.  It is our duty to consistently strive to achieve a goal of 100% attendance for all children. Every opportunity will be used to convey to pupils and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance. For our children to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered it is vital your child is at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. The routines children develop around attendance and punctuality at school are the same as the expectations of any future employer in the world of work. High attainment, confidence with peers and staff, and future aspirations depend on good attendance.

Good attendance is important because:

• statistics show a direct link between under-achievement and absence below 95%
• regular attenders make better progress, both socially and academically
• regular attenders find school routines, school work and friendships easier to cope with
• regular attenders find learning more satisfying
• regular attenders are more successful in transferring between primary school, secondary school, and higher education, employment or training.

Legal framework/ responsibilities
Parents and carers are responsible for ensuring that children attend and stay at school. It is the responsibility of the school to support attendance and to take problems seriously which may lead to non-attendance.

Penalty Notices may be issued under the Local Authority’s (LA) Code of Conduct for the use of Penalty Notices in Cases of Non-Attendance at school. A copy of this Code of Conduct can be obtained from the Attendance Officer or the Education Welfare Service.

We want to work together with our parents to ensure that every child is able to attend school every day, and we do understand that sometimes children are ill and need to stay at home. If you are unsure if your child should be at school through illness you can check the NHS website for guidance - Is my child too ill for school?

If there is another reason that your child is not able to attend, we may be able to offer you support with this. Please call the office and ask to speak to Mrs Spake our Pupil & Family Support Worker.