Attendance and Punctuality

 

ASPIRE - LEARN - FLOURISH 

The Aspire Learning Federation is made up of two schools - Elm Park Primary School and R J Mitchell Primary School in the London Borough of Havering.

At Elm Park  Primary School we believe that good school attendance and good punctuality gives children the opportunity of success and helps develop skills for life. We believe it is vital that all children attend school every day unless there is an unavoidable and justifiable cause.

Attendance at Elm Park Primary School THE FACTS!

BE PUNCTUAL:

  • Arrive to school on time
  • Aim for 100% attendance
  • School gates open at 8:25am for an 8.30am school start  
  • Please note Orchard has a school start time of 9.00am.
  • Children must be in school by these times. Even if a child is only 5- 10 minutes late each day, by the end of the week this is the equivalent of one whole lesson. 
  • If your child arrives after 9.30am, they are now classed as absent rather than late. This is for the entire morning period and this absence is unauthorised. This will have a direct impact on your child’s overall attendance percentage and unauthorised absences will be reported in mid-year and end of year reports.

 

DID YOU KNOW THAT EACH DAY MISSED:

●   Puts your child behind in their learning and makes it harder for them to catch up.

●   Can lead to lower achievement in reading, writing and numeracy.

●  Affects their confidence to attempt new learning and their ability to work  and learn alongside others in general and as a result develops reluctance or indeed refusal to attend school.

●    Disrupts your child’s routines and can make them feel vulnerable on their return to school.

●    Causes disruption to teaching routines (if teachers need to revisit previous learning) and as a result affects the learning of other children in your child’s class.

● Affects their ability to make and sustain friendship groups. Children who are regularly absent from school often feel excluded from play-time games and activities and feel they have little in common with their peers.

●   Can lead to your child becoming disillusioned with school and education as they get older.

●  Can lead to you, as the parent/carer, facing legal and financial consequences. Please remember that you have a legal duty to ensure your child attends school on a regular basis.

It is amazing how quickly absence can mount up, please look at the table below which shows how absence equates to learning time lost.

 

WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO:

✅   Send your child to school every day, all day, unless they are sick.

✅   Develop good sleep and morning routines.

✅   Schedule appointments and extra-curricular activities outside of school.

✅   Avoid taking holidays during term time.

 

Attendance Policy

Attendance Policy LBH