Attendance

At Minerva Primary we want and expect our pupils to attend school every day, unless they are really not well enough to, or there is another very good reason for their absence which is agreed by the academy.

We believe children who attend regularly are more likely to feel settled in school, maintain friendships, keep up with their learning and gain the greatest benefit from their education.

Attending on time every day also helps pupils form good habits which can stay with them throughout their education and on into the workplace.

Support for your child in school

Please remember we are here to help in any way we can. If you have any concerns about your child that you wish to discuss with us, please do get in touch.

You can contact us by phoning the school office (0117 3772990) or by emailing ([email protected]).

Arriving at school on time

Arriving at school on time is not only essential for the pupil’s own learning, it encourages habits of good timekeeping and lessens any classroom disruption. Late arrival means pupils risk missing important information which can seriously disadvantage them.

• Pupils can arrive from 8:40am when the gates open and can enter classrooms from 8:45am. There is a breakfast club which opens at 7:30am. This must be pre booked in advance.
• All pupils are expected to arrive at school in good time for the start of the school day at 9:00am.
• Between 8:45am and 9:00am children have an opportunity to revisit
• If a pupil arrives after 9:00am, they will be marked in the register as late and will have missed out on the extra practise.

Staff may ask to meet with parents/carers of pupils who regularly arrive late to discuss reasons for lateness and explore solutions.

Illness

Pupils should attend school on every day the school is open, unless they are really not well enough.

Minor illness should not be a reason for staying at home. If your child attends school when feeling slightly under the weather, do let a member of staff know and we will monitor them and contact you if we think they need to go home. If you aren’t sure whether to send your child to school, please contact us via phone on 0117 3772990 and we will be happy to talk this through with you.

If your child is too ill to attend, you must contact the academy before 9:00am on the first day of absence, to let us know. If your child is ill for more than one day, you will need to contact the academy on each morning of the absence, unless otherwise agreed.

To report an absence, contact the school office (0117 3772990 or [email protected]).

Please clearly explain the symptoms your child has, when the symptoms started, and when you expect your child to be well enough to return to school.

By law, schools must record all pupil absences and whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised.

Medical and dental appointments

Please try to avoid medical and dental appointments in school time. If this is unavoidable, arrange appointments so the minimum school time is lost. Unless it is an emergency appointment, parents/carers are expected to let the academy know about the appointment in advance, with evidence of the appointment. Your child should still attend school for as much of the school day as possible.

Absence follow up

The academy will follow up any pupil absences where the parent/carer has not contacted us to explain why, or where we are unclear about the reason for absence.

If you fail to notify us of the reason for your child’s absence, it will be recorded as unauthorised.

Where the academy has cause for concern about the actual reason for a pupil’s absence, staff may seek more

information or evidence from parents/carers, and/or make a home visit to check the reason. Unauthorised absences may result in a penalty notice or prosecution.

Important reminder about term time leave

Attending school every day helps children and young people maximise their learning and enjoy the benefits of their education. It really does make a difference.

For that reason, the academy will not authorise any leave of absence in term time, unless satisfied the reason is exceptional.

We ask parents and carers to request permission in advance. Any requests should be put in writing via the appropriate form (available from the school office) and wherever possible with at least four school weeks’ notice and before flights or other travel arrangements have been made. The parent or carer who the child normally lives with should make the application.

We also ask parents and carers not to make plans without discussing with the academy first, so that we can make good decisions together.

Family emergencies also need careful consideration. It may not always be appropriate, or in the best interests of the child, to miss school for emergencies which are being dealt with by adult family members. Wherever possible, please try to make alternative arrangements for your child so they can still attend school.

It is really important that we know where children are, as we have a duty to ensure they are safe. If we don’t know why a child is absent, we will follow our safeguarding procedures.

Parents/carers are reminded that unauthorised term time leave may result in a penalty notice or prosecution.

To assist parents/carers in booking holidays and arranging other events, our term dates and inset days can be found here.

Legal action for unauthorised absence – including penalty notices

The government has made some changes to the penalty notices for unauthorised absence rules, which come into effect from 19 August 2024, in time for the new school year.

From 19 August, if a child has at least 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in 10 school weeks, their parent/s may receive a penalty notice. (A morning or afternoon is one session; a whole school day is two sessions.) However, the government’s rules also allow for penalty notices to be issued for less unauthorised absence, in some circumstances, for example where parents appear to be avoiding the national threshold by taking several term time holidays below threshold, or for repeated absence for birthdays or other family events which the school has not authorised absence for.

Penalty notices are issued to each parent/carer with responsibility for the child and are issued for each child with unauthorised absence. For example, if two siblings have unauthorised absence, and there are two parents/carers with responsibility for the children, four penalty notices would be issued.

Please note: Penalty notices are issued to parents and carers as an alternative to prosecution and are intended to prevent the need for court action. A penalty notice may not be issued if prosecution is considered a more appropriate sanction for a pupil’s unauthorised absence.

The table below provides more information about penalty notices and other legal action for unauthorised absence.

Senior Attendance Champion

The Department for Education expects every school to have a Senior Attendance Champion who is responsible for leading on attendance matters across the school and liaising with pupils, parents and organisations outside the school, where needed.

Our academy’s Senior Attendance Champion is Mrs Shaw, Vice Principal ([email protected]).

Further information

If you have any questions about this information, or any other attendance related questions, please contact Mrs Shaw.

Our full school attendance policy can be found here