School Attendance & Punctuality

1. School Attendance & Punctuality Building a foundation on which to build academic success

2. This is Simon. He is in Year 3 and has 90% attendance. • Is that good? • What does this mean?

3. Simon thinks this is pretty good, so do his parents. Are they right? 90% attendance =1 day missed every fortnight!! 4 weeks absence from school in a school year!

4. Attendance : What it means? • 190 days ………100% Best chance of success • 183 days ………..96% Well done… • 171 days ………..90% Poor attendance • 161 days ………..85% Less chance of success • I’m worried… • 152 days ………..80% Very poor attendance • 143 days…………75% Serious impact on education and reduces life chances. I’m very concerned.

5. 1 week absence…Your child will miss about … 5 hours of Maths 5 hours of English 10 hours of all other subjects including Science, RE, Music, Art, PE, Geography, History, Design & Technology and Computing.

6. Ways for parents to encourage regular attendance… • Start now ~ little ones are easier to influence • Regularly check your child's absence with your own record. • Establish GOOD ATTENDANCE HABITS ~ little ones look to you as a role model, show them it’s important. • Talk regularly with your child about school and how they feel about it. They are more likely to want to attend and learn if they feel supported and anxieties are listened to.

7. Ways for parents to encourage regular attendance… • Phone us as soon as possible (before 9.30am) to tell us why your child is absent, and when you expect them to return. Putting the school number in your phone can save you time. • Arrange for a friend to take your child to school if a sibling is sick… it’s not fair to prevent a well child from learning. • Please don’ttake holidays in school time. • Only grant days at home for genuine illness. (you will know! Weakness now = problems later)

8. Ways for parents to encourage regular attendance… • Know routines of the school day to avoid issues, e.g. have they got their PE kit? • Help your child get everything ready the night before e.g. uniform, reading book • Establish a good bedtime routine, so your child can sleep well, get enough sleep and make mornings less of a struggle! • PRAISE AND REWARD GOOD ATTENDANCE: even small successes e.g. getting ready quickly, even if resisting going to school.

9. Other tips to help secure good attendance… • If there is a problem with your child’s attendance, talk calmly to your child and listen to the explanation. There is always an explanation. It may not impress you, but it is important enough to them to be putting them off school. Pursuing the reason for not wanting to attend is important. • Talk to us - we maybe able to help and support you and your child. You are not alone, we can work together to find solutions so that little problems don’t become BIG ones. • Allow plenty of time to travel to school. Children can come into class from 8.40am.

10. Other tips to help secure good attendance… • Set an alarm clock – rushing is unsettling • We have a School Breakfast Club that opens at 7.45am. • Remember PRAISE for good attendance.

11. Another thing to think about… If absence takes place regularly friendship groups may change… This can = unhappiness and prevents learning.

12. Attend and Achieve! • If a school can improve attendance by 1%, they will see a 5-6% improvement in attainment.DfE • Please help us and your child by ensuring their attendance remains above 96%, allowing them to achieve their potential. Get into GOOD HABITS today!

13. SEAAS & School • Each school has an allocated AAO… • Check registers and monitor attendance… • Early intervention… • Attendance surgeries… • Fast Track… • Legal Advice… Phil Turner South Eastern Attendance Advisory Service philipturner@seaas.co.uk Tel: 020 8150 0082 Mobile: 07794 908 204