At Oakley Cross we understand that every child has the right to a high quality education which seeks to maximise opportunities for each child to reach his/her true potential (Article 28 and 29).
To support our children in accessing this right, all school staff will work with children and their families to support parents in helping them to meet their legal duty; to ensure that their children attend school regularly and on time. A whole school attendance target of 96% has been set for the academic year 2020/2021.
At Oakley Cross we now have an Attendance Officer. Mrs Mathwin will work alongside other members of school staff to monitor our attendance and lateness, support families in improving attendance and work with groups and individuals in school. Please view an overview of our Attendance information located in the document below.
Attendance Policy Information for Parents Leaflet
Rising Fives Attendance Leaflet
Update on Attendance Procedures
Ideally pupils are expected to achieve 100% attendance. If, however, a child is ill or is absent for any reason, parents or carers are asked to phone the School Office giving a full reason for the child’s absence. If a child is absent from school and there is no phone call from home then school will phone home to inform parents that the child is not in school and enquire about a reason why. Help us safeguard your children by ringing the school on the first day of absence and telling us why your child is unable to attend school. If we are unable to contact you, Mrs Mathwin, our Attendance Officer will try and make contact and this may involve a home visit and further action.
If a child misses registration at 8.55am they will be marked late in the register. If they arrive after 9.15am, the lateness will be recorded as unauthorised absence.
The school, in accordance with government regulations will only grant holidays, during term time under exceptional circumstances. Holidays will be marked as unauthorised. All leave of absent from school requires parents to meet with Mrs Lowrie our Learning Mentor or Mrs Mathwin our and the appropriate form signed. The Head Teacher and school governors will assess and respond to each request.
Dental and medical appointments should, whenever possible, be made outside of the school day. If it is unavoidable that a child should have an appointment during school hours, the school office should be notified of the date and time of appointment and when the child will be collected/returned to school. Evidence of the appointment should be given to the school.
The school/local authority does keep attendance and lateness records and these are regularly monitored by our Attendance Officer. The school’s Learning Mentor works closely with the Mrs Mathwin and will follow up concerns about attendance or punctuality. If the child’s attendance/lateness gives cause for concern, the parent/carer will be invited to an attendance meeting to discuss reasons for absence and to agree ways it can be improved. If the absence persists then further action will be taken, up to and including legal action.
For more detailed information, our Attendance Policy is located in our School Policies section.
School Attendance Tables are added to our website every week in our Achievement section. The school has established an effective system of incentives and rewards which acknowledges the efforts of children to improve their attendance and timekeeping.
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