Things That You Need to Know

Children can enter the building from 8:45am.

The school day starts at 8:55am.

For safeguarding reasons our doors close at 8:55am.

Registers are completed and sent to the office at 9am.

Children arriving at school after 8:55am need to report at the main office.

This is so that we know the registers are correct and so that we can take lunch orders.  They will be recorded as late and the reason for lateness will be recorded for monitoring purposes.  They will then be met at their designated entrance by a member of staff.  Parents are expected to wait with their child until the child enters the school building.

We Celebrate Good Attendance

At Shotton Primary School we celebrate children’s success and achievements.

Trophies are handed out every Friday in Celebration Assembly for the classes with the best attendance in school.

The class with the BEST attendance for the week will get to look after Miss Harcourt's stick insects for the week.

Any class with at least 95% attendance for the week is awarded a star in Celebration Assembly.

When a class has earned 10 attendance stars they have a class celebration. They might even get to have popcorn or candy floss or even a trip to the park.

Helping and Supporting with Attendance

Working with Parents and Carers

My name is Miss Harcourt and since September 2023 I have been the full time Safeguarding and Attendance Officer for Shotton Primary School.

My role is to help ensure children are safe and happy inside and outside of school and address any concerns whilst acting in the best interests of the child. I am available to children and families to provide support, advice and help with any issues. I can provide low level support to children within school if they are finding aspects of school difficult, struggling with their feelings or emotional regulation, behaviour issues, self esteem and well being.

I can also work closely with parents and other agencies to help provide the support and help families need, when they need it. Please do not hesitate to contact me. Myself and school are here to help and work in partnership with our families to achieve the best results for all of our students.

Staff Cannot Teach an Empty Seat!

So that students have the best possible chance to succeed and reach their potential, an important part of my role is to monitor the attendance of individual children for whom we have concerns due to poor levels of attendance or punctuality.

I am able to identify patterns in school absence and as a school we work closely with other schools and the Local Authority to address any attendance issues with the sole purpose of children regularly coming to school to ensure their positive well-being and achievement.

If you need support in getting your children to school please contact me as soon as possible. We value the support of parents and carers and really want you to feel part of our Shotton Primary family.

Why is it important that my child comes to school every day?

At Shotton Primary School we are passionate about excellent school attendance. Children who attend school regularly, as early as Nursery, are shown to have more positive outcomes throughout their school life and into adulthood.

High levels of school attendance are directly linked to:

• Healthy development, 
• Supportive friendships,
• Positive mental health and well-being
• High achievement.

Regular school attendance is important right from the beginning, starting with Nursery, to get children into the habit of attending school.

Failure to attend school in the early years of education is shown to continue throughout a child’s school life. When students miss valuable lesson time, it can have a negative effect on their progress in all areas of learning and development.

What does Research Show?

1. Only 12% of children with below 80% school attendance, achieve 5 or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and Maths, compared to 68% of pupils with at least 95% attendance.
2. Young people who are frequently absent from school are more likely to become involved in or be a victim of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Legal Requirements

All schools must record details of pupils’ attendance and absence at school.

They do so at the beginning of morning and afternoon sessions.

• Good attendance is classed as 95% and above and is vital to help children achieve and get the best possible start in life.
• All children from the age of 5 to 16 are required by law to receive an education. It is the duty of parents and carers to ensure that they are supported to do so.

If your child's attendance falls to below 90%, the Government sees this as being persistently absence. Where attendance falls to below 90% and there are unauthorised absences, this may result in a referral to the Local Authority for enforcement action.

What Does it Mean?

90% Attendance means that your child misses:

• One half day each week of school
• Nearly four weeks every school year
• Over one school year in a school career.

If your child's attendance falls to below 90%, the Government sees this as being persistently absent. Where attendance falls to below 90% and there are unauthorised absences, this may result in a referral to the Local Authority for enforcement action.

90% Attendance means that your child misses:

· One half day each week of school

· Nearly four weeks every school year

· Over one school year in a school career

What Happens if My Child is Absent from School?

It is school policy to work with students, their parents and carers when the student’s attendance falls below the school target of 96%.

In these cases, our Safeguarding and Attendance Officer, Miss Harcourt, will contact you to discuss your child’s attendance, reasons for absence and whether a support plan or parenting contract needs to be put in place to ensure your child can regularly attend school and give them the best possible chance of success.

If your child is absent, you MUST:

1. Phone school (0191 526 2006) as soon as possible before 9am on the first day of absence to inform us that your child will not be at school and how long they are likely to be absent for.
2. Keep us informed on a regular basis if your child is absent for a long period.

What will we do?

1. If you do not provide a reason for your child’s absence, our Safeguarding and Attendance Officer, Miss Harcourt, will contact you by text and telephone to find out why your child is not in school.
2. If your child is absent a second day without reason and contact cannot be made, Miss Harcourt may visit your home to find out if help and support is needed.
3. If a reason for absence is not provided your child’s absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

What might happen next?

If your child has 10 unauthorised absences or more, this would need to be reported to the Local Authority, who may then take enforcement action, including the following:

• A parenting order – A parenting plan determined by the court, maybe including mandatory parenting classes
• An Education Supervision Order – A supervisor will be appointed to help you get your child back in education.
• A School Attendance Order may be made by the court
• A fine/fixed penalty notice may be issued.
• Prosecution

Holidays in Term Time

A leave of absence form must be obtained from the school office and returned in advance of any holiday being taken in term time.

• Any holidays taken in term time, which are not deemed as exceptional circumstances will be recorded as unauthorised.
• Any unauthorised holiday of 7 days or more within a 12 week period will be referred to the Local Authority for enforcement action and a possible fixed penalty notice applied to any parent with paternal responsibility.

Arriving at school on time is important

Punctuality is also very important. Children who arrive late don’t settle into the school day and can be uncertain of what is expected of them. Lessons start on time at Shotton Primary, so children need to be on time in order to learn!

• The school day starts at 8:55am.
• Lessons and learning start at 9am

The vast majority of students at Shotton Primary School have good punctuality and arrive to school on time for school starting at 8:55am. Students will be recorded as late if they arrive to their class after registers close at 9.00am. If students are regularly late our Safeguarding and Attendance Officer, Miss Harcourt will contact parents and carers to discuss the reasons for this and put a plan in place to help children get to school on time.

If there are any problems, please come and speak to school, we want to help and everything we do at Shotton Primary is for the well being and best interests of the children.