What is good attendance?
Good attendance is 97% or more!
This is no more than 5 days off school each year.
Why does good attendance matter?
Good attendance at school is the single most important factor to ensure that your child achieves their full potential. Good attendance is strongly linked to educational achievement.
We expect all children to attend school every day that school is open, unless they are unwell. so that they can:
- Achieve their potential
- Thrive and be happy with excellent relationships and a sense of achievement
- Develop a positive attitude to learning and school
- Make good habits of attendance and timekeeping that are lifelong
- See themselves as part of our St. Barnabas community.
Advice to Parents
At St. Barnabas we always aim to provide a welcoming, calm, purposeful and safe learning environment. We want every child, parent, carer and family member to feel supported, valued and connected to our St. Barnabas community.
We want to work in partnership with parents and carers, the children themselves, our full staff team and when needed, external agencies, support networks and the Local Authority.
What do you need to do?
- Have high expectations for your child’s attendance.
- Bring your child to school every day that school is open, unless they are unwell.
- Let us know as soon as possible if your child is unexpectedly absent. You can send a ParentMail message, ring the school office on 01905 22766, email office@st-barnabas-primary.worcs.sch.uk or, call in at the office.
- Only request term time leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.
- Book any medical and dental appointments outside of the school day, whenever possible.
- Try to be on time every day but if you are running late, let us know and still bring your child to school.
- Work in partnership with us if your child is struggling to attend for any reason.
- Work in partnership with us and the Local Authority if your child has SEND that affects their attendance in any way.
Can I take a term time holiday?
Family holidays during term time do not usually count as exceptional circumstances.
This includes booking a holiday during term time because it is much cheaper.
Please do not request term time leave for your child unless there are exceptional circumstances.
What can you do if your child is struggling to come to school?
Most children have the odd ‘tricky day’ or worry about coming to school at some point in their journey. They might have fallen out with a friend, be finding some work difficult, feel that there is someone being unkind to them, experiencing bullying or be finding some aspect of the school day difficult. Sometimes a home difficulty can also make coming to school harder than usual. Facing worries and dealing with bumps in the road is a normal part of growing up and usually children can work through difficulties with good support from their families and the school staff.
What do you do if the problem doesn’t seem to be going away and your child is still struggling or their attendance is starting to suffer?
Talk to us– we are here to support you and your child.
Talk to your child– what do they think is making attendance difficult? How would they like school to help?
Work with us– we want your child to thrive and achieve their full potential. Help us make a plan to identify and address any barriers.
Keep communicating– let us know if your child is struggling or anxious.
Take advice from helpful websites- see our Supporting Parents page for these links.
Useful Documents
