Attendance

This is essential for pupils to get the most out of their school experience, including their attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances. The pupils with the highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 and key stage 4 have higher rates of attendance over the key stage compared to those with the lowest attainment. At KS2, pupils not meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths had an overall absence rate of 4.7%, compared to 3.5% among those meeting the expected standard. Moreover, the overall absence rate of pupils not meeting the expected standard was higher than among those meeting the higher standard (4.7% compared to 2.7%). At KS4, pupils not achieving grade 9 to 4 in English and maths had an overall absence rate of 8.8%, compared to 5.2% among those achieving grade 42. The overall absence rate of pupils not achieving grade 9 to 4 was over twice as high as those achieving grade 9 to 5 (8.8% compared to 3.7%). DFE Guidance - Working together to improve school attendance 2024

Attendance and punctuality is important for learning at Peters Hill Primary School. Time out of class means your child misses learning opportunities. Children with Outstanding Attendance are able to participate in and make the best use of all the wonderful learning, activities and events provided at our school; what we would like for every single one of our pupils!  A government report has looked at how attendance affects the performance of pupils in the most important years of primary education. The report finds that higher attendance leads to pupils achieving higher grades. You can read this report by clicking here.

Please see the diagram to the right which we use to rate the attendance of our pupils. It is essential that all pupils achieve as high attendance as possible and we are committed to achieving this across the whole school. We understand that occasionally children will be absent due to illness or other circumstances; it’s a natural part of life in and out of school. We are able to administer prescribed medicines when required to help your child while at school. This can be arranged by contacting the school office. 

Our First Aid and Medical Assistant is Miss Hicks. 

Our School Attendance Officer is Mrs Bird. 

Our Attendance Link Governor is Mrs Belcher.

Please note that daily absence is expected to be recorded through the absence reporting line. All parents have a duty to do this on a daily basis. This ensures that parents are able to leave a message for school before the day begins outlining the reason for the absence. Any pupil missing at the start of the day will be recorded through the registers and parents contacted if we have not received clarification of the absence. It is essential that parent contact details are up to date at all times. If we have not received a message regarding absence and we are unable to identify the wherabouts of the child this information will be given to the school safeguarding team who will follow school policy by exploring different strategies for contacting parents. This may include a home visit. Please note that in the event of not being able to verify the whereabouts of a child through all available contacts and strategies, it may be considered an immediate safeguarding concern and could result in a referral to children's services. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or concerns regarding attendance. We are here to support you as needed. To contact us simply email absence@petershillprimary.org or call the main school office and ask to speak to our attendance officer (Mrs Bird). 

Punctuality

Being on time is important to your child; every morning the class teacher explains what is going to happen during that day and startes teaching sessions promptly. If your child misses just a few minutes they may miss some very important information. 

Getting into the habit of being punctual at school is a good life lesson. Good timekeeping is a requirement for most employers and is usually listed as a requirement for employees so by ensuring your child learns to be on time you are not only helping them make the most of school but also helping them with their future job prospects. 

Please click here to view our Attendance Policy.

So far this year, our whole school attendance is 94.79% 

Persistent Absence

If your child takes too much time off school they will become categorised as persistently absent (PA)

A pupil becomes a ‘persistent absentee’ (PA) when they miss 10% or more schooling across the school year for whatever reason. Absence at this level is doing considerable damage to any child’s educational prospects and we need parents/guardians/carers’ fullest support and cooperation to tackle this. Ten percent of absenteeism in the seven years of primary education is the equivalent of missing over a year of schooling. We monitor all absence thoroughly. Regular reports are shared with stakeholders, such as Governors. The long-term impacts of persistent absence are harmful to a child’s future prospects, with a clear negative correlation identified between pupils who are persistently absent and their academic achievement levels. These pupils also risk a higher likelihood to be excluded from school or drop out in later years. Pupils with high absence rates often find it more difficult to connect with their peers or face increased difficulties in their social and emotional development.