In order to raise standards in education and ensure all pupils can fulfil their potential, pupils need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education. Pupils’ achievement is directly influenced by attendance and punctuality and suffers when attendance and punctuality are unsatisfactory.
Attendance is an ongoing area for improvement at St Mary’s and any absences will make it harder for us to achieve our target of 96%. Poor attendance and punctuality is monitored and followed up swiftly.
The Government expects
Schools and local authorities to:
- promote good attendance and reduce absence, including persistent absence;
- ensure every pupil has access to full-time education to which they are entitled;
- act early to address patterns of absence.
- support parents to perform their legal duty by ensuring their children of compulsory school age who are registered at school attend regularly.
- ensure all pupils are punctual for their lessons
Holidays during term-time
From 1st September 2013, parents have no entitlement to take their child on holiday during term time. Any application for leave must only be in exceptional circumstances and the headteacher must be satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional and warrant the granting of leave. A term time holiday is not an exceptional circumstance.
Parents can be fined by the local authority for taking their child on holiday during term time without the consent of the school.