Attendance and Success
At Sound and District we believe that school success goes hand in hand with good attendance! We encourage good attendance in school by providing the following:
- Weekly attendance winners in school, which is shared on our weekly newsletter
- Celebrating those children with 100% attendance and congratulate children with good attendance at the end of each term.
- Check out our Attendance Policy.
Did you know?
- Starting in Reception, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
- Missing 10 percent (or about 18 days) can make it harder to learn to read.
- Children can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks.
- Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
- Absences can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.
Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Start building this habit in preschool so that children learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Good attendance will help children do well in high school, college, and at work.
How parents can help
- Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
- Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
- Find out the best way to get to school and what time school starts; to ensure that your child has the required time to get ready.
- Don’t let your child stay at home unless he/she is truly sick. Keep in mind complaints of a stomach ache or a headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home.
- If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, the office team, or other parents for advice on how to make her feel comfortable and excited about learning.
- Develop backup plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbour, or another parent.
- Avoid medical appointments and extended trips during school term time.
For more information, visit http://www.attendanceworks.org/
Holidays during Term Time
Government guidelines are that parents should not take their children out of school during term time and that absences can only be considered to be authorised if there is an exceptional reason as to why that absence needs to take place during term time.
Should there be exceptional circumstances that mean the absence is absolutely unavoidable, you are required to complete a leave of absence request form. (Please see below link). Please detail why the circumstances are exceptional circumstances.
Fixed Penalty Notices
Both an accumulation of unauthorised absences and/or persistent absenteeism can result in the issuing of fixed penalty notices from the local authority.
See below the information in regards to penalties for unauthorised absence :
| Timeline | One child | Two children |
| Paid within 21 days | £80 per parent | £80 per child = £160 per parent |
| After 21 days | £120 per parent | £120 per child = £240 per parent |
| Next stages | A second penalty notice will be charged at a flat rate of £120 A third Fixed penalty notice may result in formal proceedings by the local authority . |