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Attendance

Regular attendance at school promotes pupils’ wellbeing and gives them the best chance of learning and reaching their potential. Children should attend school every day that the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.

Research shows a direct link between high attendance and doing well at school. Every child has the right to an education, and we encourage and expect excellent attendance from all of our pupils.

Why good attendance matters

Pupils who attend school regularly:

  • Form stronger learning relationships with the other children in their class and across the school

  • Settle into school routines more easily and sustain their friendships

  • Find their learning easier, because they are not carrying gaps caused by missed lessons

  • Achieve better results in their assessments

  • Move more confidently between primary school, secondary school, further education and, in time, employment or training

  • Are known to be safe and well by the staff who see them every day

What the percentages mean

Attendance figures can be misleading, because a percentage that sounds high can hide a great deal of lost learning. Across a school year of 190 days:

  • 97% attendance — around 6 days missed. This is the standard we aim for at Ashdon.

  • 95% attendance — around 10 days missed, the equivalent of two school weeks.

  • 90% attendance — around 19 days missed, almost four school weeks. A pupil at or below 90% is classed by the Department for Education as a persistent absentee.

  • Below 50% attendance — the pupil is missing more school than they are attending, and is classed as severely absent.

We monitor attendance closely at both individual and group level, and we will always contact you early if a pattern begins to emerge. Our intention in doing so is to understand what is getting in the way and to help, not to apportion blame.

The school day, registration and lateness

  • The school gates open at 08:50. Children should arrive between 08:50 and 08:57.

  • The whistle is blown at 08:57, when parents and carers should leave the school grounds so that the children can line up.

  • Pupils enter school at 09:00 and go straight to their classrooms.

  • The morning register is taken at 09:03 and closes at 09:10. The afternoon register is taken at 13:33 and closes at 13:40. Registers are taken at the same time for every pupil, in both sessions.

  • Any child arriving after 09:00 must be signed in at the school office by an adult.

  • A child who arrives after the register has been taken but before it closes is marked late (code L) and is still counted as present for that session.

  • A child who arrives after the register has closed is recorded as late after registration closed (code U), which the Department for Education counts as an unauthorised absence for that whole session, even though the child is in school for most of it.

  • Arriving late is unsettling for children — walking into a classroom where everyone else has already begun is genuinely difficult for a young child. We would far rather help you solve a morning routine problem than record a late mark, so please do talk to us.

  • Where we see a pattern of lateness, we will get in touch to talk through what would make the mornings easier.

  • Children must also be collected on time. Any child not collected by 15:35 will join the After School Club, and KidzActive will charge for that session​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Reporting an absence

  • If your child is going to be absent, you must let the school office know before 09:10 on each day of the absence, not only the first.

  • You can telephone the school on 01799 584219, email the admin team at admin@ashdon.essex.sch.uk, or speak to a member of the office team in person.

  • Please tell us what is wrong rather than simply saying your child is unwell — it helps us decide whether the absence can be authorised, and sometimes helps us spot when a child needs support.

  • If we have not heard from you, we will telephone home on the first morning of absence. This is a safeguarding measure: we need to know that every child is safe and accounted for.

  • Where absence continues or a pattern develops, we will follow up by telephone and email, and will invite you in to talk.

  • Please arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours or during the holidays wherever this is possible. Where it isn’t, please try to bring your child in for the rest of the day rather than keeping them at home for a full session.

Leave of absence during term time

The law does not give parents a right to take children out of school during term time. Headteachers may only grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances, and the Department for Education has been clear that a family holiday is not, in itself, an exceptional circumstance.

  • Requests must be made in advance, using the Leave of Absence Request Form below. Leave cannot be authorised after the event.

  • Each request is considered individually on its own merits. Where leave is granted, the headteacher also decides how many days are agreed.

  • You will be notified of the decision in writing. If leave is not granted and the absence is taken anyway, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

Unauthorised absence can lead to a penalty notice. These are issued by Essex County Council, not by the school, and are governed by a national framework:

  • A penalty notice must be considered once a pupil has accrued 10 sessions (usually five school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling period of 10 school weeks. The sessions do not need to be consecutive, and the 10-week period can span terms or school years.

  • A first penalty notice is £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days. It is issued per parent, per child.

  • A second penalty notice to the same parent for the same child within three years is charged at a flat rate of £160, with no reduced rate.

  • Only two penalty notices can be issued to a parent for the same child within any three-year period. Beyond that, the local authority may move to prosecution.

We would far rather never reach this point. If something is making school attendance difficult — anxiety, a health condition, a change at home, anything at all — please tell us early. There is a great deal we can do to help, and almost none of it works well once matters have escalated.

How we support attendance

As a school, we:​

  • Talk to pupils and parents about why being in school every day matters

  • Take an accurate register twice a day and check that every child is accounted for

  • Telephone home on the first morning of any unexplained absence

  • Follow up unexplained absence by telephone and email, and meet with families where absence persists

  • Aim for a whole-school attendance rate of at least 97%. Children in Reception are treated in exactly the same way as all other pupils [confirm]

  • Monitor attendance data for individuals and for groups of pupils, and target our support where it is most needed

  • Discuss attendance concerns with parents in order to understand the barriers a child or family may be facing

  • Help families access support to remove those barriers — this might include the local authority attendance team, or early help such as the parenting service

  • Where absence persists and the support offered has not been taken up, explain clearly what happens next; this may include formalising support through a parenting contract or an education supervision order

  • Report and discuss attendance data with the Full Governing Board each term

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Where every avenue of support has been exhausted and attendance has not improved, the local authority is able to enforce attendance through statutory intervention or prosecution, in order to protect a child’s right to an education.

What we ask of parents

  • By law, you must ensure that your child attends school regularly.

  • Contact the office before the register closes on every day of an absence.

  • Make sure your child arrives between 08:50 and 08:57, and is collected on time.

  • Arrange appointments outside school hours wherever possible.

  • Apply in advance for any leave of absence, and don’t book before you have a decision.

  • Talk to us early if anything is making attendance difficult.

Who to contact

Our Senior Attendance Champion is Mrs M Reynecke-Raybould, Headteacher. If you have any concerns at all about your child’s attendance, or about anything that is making it hard for them to be in school, please get in touch through the school office on 01799 584219 or at admin@ashdon.essex.sch.uk. A conversation early on is always easier than a difficult one later.

Policies and other information

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