Excellent attendance at school is vital to securing the greatest possible personal development and academic progress for each child.  We expect all families to be committed to excellent attendance. Term-time absences are only authorised in exceptional circumstances.  

Where a child’s attendance looks likely to fall below 90% (the government’s ‘persistent absence’ threshold), parents will be informed by letter and may be invited into school for a meeting and to agree a ‘Raising Attendance Plan’ for their child. Where attendance falls below 90%, this is equivalent to missing 1 day of school per fortnight across a full school year,  this can have a significant detrimental impact on a pupil's academic and personal development.

As a parent, it is your legal responsibility to make sure your child attends school regularly. It is our responsibility to support good attendance and effectively monitor all absence from school. Our attendance target, for all pupils, is at least 96%.

Punctuality is similarly important. School begins at 8:00am for all pupils – please ensure children are consistently punctual. 

Government data shows that, nationally, pupils with the highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 have higher rates of attendance over the key stage compared to those with the lowest levels of attainment.  We will always work positively and constructively with families where attendance is low – we know that every family at our school is committed to achieving excellent attendance.

To improve attendance and reduce avoidable absences:

• Avoid scheduling family holidays (or other avoidable trips away) during term time.
• Avoid taking children out of school for a full day when attending appointments – only remove them from school at the time you need to, and bring them back to school afterwards.
• In exceptional circumstances, the school may authorise an absence request during term time. If making such a request, consider steps that can be taken to reduce the impact on your child’s attendance (e.g. keep the number of days away to an absolute minimum).

We greatly value the honesty and openness with which our families approach attendance and absence.  If you need any help or support, please speak to school or our 

Education Welfare Officer (EWO) rebecca.miller143@mod.gov.uk 

Every overseas command location has an allocated Education Welfare Officer. The team sits within the Specialist Support Services branch of Defence Children Services. The service is Quad-service, supporting all Army, Navy, RAF and Civilian families overseas.  All EWOs are experienced practitioners with a range of knowledge and skills relating to education, social care, military and local authority education welfare. We are a voluntary support service, available to support children and families where any attendance related issues or concerns are raised.