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A dynamic, inclusive school; rooted in its Catholic values and respect for all people; a safe place of successful, enjoyable and challenging learning.

Attendance and Punctuality

Mrs Jackie Storey

J Storey, Education Welfare Officer

I am the Education Welfare Officer supporting Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School and I am responsible for overseeing Attendance and Punctuality for all pupils.

If your child is unable to attend school we ask you to contact us by telephone as soon as possible.

There is a wealth of research showing that children with excellent attendance make better progress at all stages of their education than those with poor attendance. 90% attendance may sound good, but it is worth remembering that a child with 90% for the whole year will actually have missed nearly 4 weeks of school!

We regularly review attendance for all children, and if your child’s attendance is under around 93% then you will probably receive a letter to let you know that we are keeping an eye on it, and offering support if required.

It is a legal requirement for parents/carers to ensure that their child attends school regularly and punctually. Part of my role involves liaising with the Local Authority and Legal Services, who are responsible for taking legal action against parents/carers where attendance is poor and absences are unauthorised.

Holidays during term time

Please remember that we cannot authorise ANY absences from school due to family holidays. Please use the 175 non-school days that we have every year. We are fully committed to following Brighton & Hove City Council’s Code of Conduct around Fixed Penalty Notice fines for unauthorised absences during term time, so if your child is absent during term time for a holiday then you should expect to receive a fine.

Punctuality

We would like to send a sincere thank you to the vast majority of families who ensure that children are on time every day. However, lateness is an area that we do need to improve on as a school so it is going to be monitored closely, and we will be sending letters to families where persistent lateness is a concern.

From 8.50am, teachers will have prepared intervention sessions and materials for every child to learn.  Punctuality is important because children who arrive after 8.50am are missing that valuable intervention time which is so crucial to their progress.  When lateness is repeated, it becomes more difficult for the class teacher to help the children.  Every minute really does count!

Please pass a message via the office for Mrs Storey if you would like to discuss anything around attendance or absences.