Lancaster Christ Church C of E Primary School
Attendance
At Lancaster Christ Church Church of England Primary School, we recognise that attending school regularly has a positive impact on learning, progress and therefore the best life chances for children. We will encourage good attendance for all pupils, by offering an environment in which pupils feel valued and part of the school community.
Department for Education (DfE) guidance states that all schools should have effective systems and procedures for encouraging regular school attendance and investigating the underlying causes of poor attendance, which should be set out in an attendance policy. These systems should be reviewed regularly and modified where necessary to reflect the circumstances of the school.
Ensuring your child's regular attendance at school is your legal responsibility and permitting absence from school without good reason creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution.
By working together, we can give your child the best chance to reach their full potential, both in school and beyond. Regular attendance helps your child:
Keep up with lessons and achieve their target grades
Build and maintain friendships
Take part in fun social and sporting activities
Learn important life skills
Develop good habits like punctuality, which are essential for future success
We’re committed to making sure your child feels safe, supported, and part of our school family. Being in school regularly plays a big part in that.
Why Attendance Matters
It might seem like 90% attendance is okay—but that actually means your child misses nearly 4 weeks of school over the year. That’s a lot of lost learning!
Here’s what attendance looks like over time:
Our goal is for every child to aim for 100% attendance and achieve at least 96%.
|
You can read our school Attendance Policy and Procedural Framework here: |
When Your Child Is Unwell
We understand that children sometimes get sick or have exceptional reasons for being absent. The NHS has a helpful guide to help you decide if your child is too ill for school:
Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
How You Can Help
Here are some simple ways you can support your child’s attendance and punctuality:
Set a regular bedtime to help them get enough sleep
Create a calm evening and morning routine
Make sure they attend school every day unless there’s a valid reason
Get them to school on time
Book medical appointments outside school hours when possible
Let us know if your child is too unwell to attend
Take holidays during school breaks—not term time
Talk positively about school and show interest in their day
Attend parents’ evenings and school events
Praise their efforts and achievements
Work with us to support any behavioural or emotional challenges
Reach out early if you have any concerns—we’re here to help
Leave in term time
It is a legal requirement for parents/carers to obtain the permission of the Headteacher before removing their child from school in order to take any leave in term time.
Parents do not have an automatic right to take their children out of school for leave during term time and may be issued with a Penalty Notice (£120 per parent per child) if they do so without prior arrangement with the Headteacher.
The legislation only allows the Headteacher to authorise such leave in exceptional circumstances.
To apply for a child to be granted leave from school, parents should complete this form and return it to school for consideration well in advance of the proposed leave and before committing to any expense.
Upon receipt of a request, the Headteacher will make a decision whether to authorise the absence, being mindful of government regulations and LA guidance.
It is important that, if you believe exceptional circumstances apply, you provide this information to school at the time of submitting this request. Information submitted at a later date will not be considered.
By definition, exceptional trips should not occur regularly.
|
Click on the link to download a Leave Request Form |
Education Related Penalty Notices
You may be aware that the Department for Education has recently announced national changes to penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence in term time. These changes will come into effect on 19 August 2024.
The changes to be aware of are:
• Penalty notices issued for offences that take place after 19 August 2024 will be charged at a new rate of £160 per parent per child. This can be paid at £80 if paid within 21 days.
• Any second penalty notice issued to the same parent for the same child within a rolling 3-year period will be issued at the rate of £160 to be paid within 28 days with no option for a discounted rate.
• The threshold at which a penalty notice must be considered is set at 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10- school week period1 . This may include absences as a result of arriving late after the register closes. The 10 school weeks may span different terms or school years.
• A maximum of 2 penalty notices may be issued to a parent for the same child within a rolling 3-year period, so at the 3rd (or subsequent) offence(s) another course of action will need to be considered (such as prosecution or one of the other attendance legal interventions).
• Only penalty notices issued for absences taking place after 19 August 2024 will count towards the above thresholds.
1 A school week is any week in which a school meets at least once.
