Attendance FAQs

Our Mission Statement:

At Chantry we are relentless in our pursuit of excellence and our desire that pupils develop a thirst for knowledge of the world around them. We celebrate the diversity and individuality of our pupils, staff and community, meeting everyone’s needs through our values-based ethos and culture.

Why is attendance important?

At Chantry Primary Academy, we aim to ensure that all children arrive to school and on time every day. We believe that regular attendance at school is one of the keys to pupils gaining the greatest benefit from their education. It is also an important part of their preparation for the world of work. Our school will actively work with children and their families to promote and encourage 100% attendance and celebrate this wonderful achievement.

If your child is going to be absent?

If your child is going to be absent, inform the school by 8:30am via ParentMail App advising us of the reason for his/her absence and when you expect them to return. Please DO NOT use Dojo for this.

If your child has missed 10 sessions or 5 days in one school year?

We are now requesting medical evidence following 10 sessions of absences to support your child’s reason for being absent, particularly if there is a persistent or repeated health issue. This evidence can be one of the following: medical appointment card, letter from a health professional, doctor’s note, medication provided by a doctor, copy of prescription.

 If your child has a medical appointment?

Where at all possible, please make medical appointments outside of school hours.

We will require you to provide proof of any medical appointments during school hours i.e. print screen of medical appointment, letters concerning hospital appointments

 Requesting leave of absence for term time holidays?

• School does not authorise school term holidays.
• A fixed penalty notice may be issued if pupils take holidays in term time.
• In rare and exceptional circumstances, where you need to ask for leave of absence, complete the Leave of Absence Request Form. Please collect and return this to the School office, giving at least 4 weeks notice prior to the planned start of the absence.

If my child needs to attend a sporting fixture, performance or religious observance?

• Let us know about any supervised sporting events or trials, theatre performances (which must be licensed) or acts of religious worship in which child will be participating in advance of the event.

 What will the school do if we have a concern about your child’s attendance?

The attendance of all our pupils is reviewed regularly. Where we have concerns about a pupil attendance level or pattern of attendance, we may:

• carry out welfare visits to offer support and advice
• inform you of our concerns via telephone or letter
• invite you into school to talk about your child’s attendance to see what support/ strategies can be put in place to improve attendance, this will also include situations where there are longer term medical needs
• With your consent, seek professional medical advice for ongoing or long periods of illnesses i.e. contact GP or referral to school nurse
• Request medical evidence to support absences. Failure to do so can result in absence being unauthorised.

Where we continue to have concerns about a pupil’s attendance and in particular where it falls below 90% for a longer period of time, we may involve the Education Welfare Service provided by Luton Borough Council. This could result in a penalty notice being issued by the service.

Punctuality

It is vital that every child gets to school on time. Your child should arrive to their class no later than 8:45am. If they arrive after this time, it will be recorded as late on our electronic registers. Children arriving after this time should report to the main office and will be marked ‘late’.

 When children are extremely late, they may be marked as ‘U’ which is recorded as unauthorised.

 Lateness will be monitored and parents will be sent text messages reminding you to ensure children arrive to school on time. If the lateness becomes a concern, we will invite you to attend a meeting to discuss this further. Persistent lateness will be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may take legal action.

 Who do I contact if I have a question or concern about my child attendance?

• Contact the Pastoral Team if you have concerns about attendance.
• Let the school know if there is any change to your contact details.

In essence, good communication between home and school helps!