Attendance and Absence
At Watton Westfield Infant and Nursery School, we are very keen to promote strong attendance.
School attendance is not merely a requirement but a fundamental pillar of education. It plays a pivotal role in shaping academic success, personal growth, and future prospects, making it an indispensable aspect of any educational system.
Watton Westfield Infant and Nursery School is proudly recognised as an Inclusive Attendance school. Our unwavering commitment to attendance centres around child centric actions, evidence - informed practices and a shared understanding of everyone's roles and responsibilities to promote exceptional attendance.
Authorised Absence.
We understand there are times when children are too poorly to attend school. All absence due to illness should be reported through Study Bugs by 08.30am. The sign up to study bugs can be found in the link below.We have a strict 48 hour rule for sickness and diarrhoea. If your child vomits or has diarrhoea, they must remain off school for 48 hours following the last bout of sickness/diarrhoea.
Unauthorised Absence.
Our aim is for every pupil's attendance to be 100% unless there are exceptional or unavoidable reasons for absence.
Leave of absence during term time will only be authorised in highly exceptional circumstances.
A holiday in term time is not considered exceptional and will not be authorised. We ask parents to help children achieve their full potential by not taking holidays during the 190 days school is open and to instead utilise the 13 weeks of school holidays we have each academic year.
A child on holiday for 2 weeks during term time will miss at least 50 hours of learning, some of these children never catch up on the learning missed.
If you require a leave of absence during term time, a leave of absence form should be completed and handed into the office. Requests for leave must be made in advance otherwise we will be unable to consider your individual circumstances and the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
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EVERY DAY COUNTS |
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90% attendance means missing on average half a day EVERY week. That’s four whole weeks of school in one year. |
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90% attendance = a child missing 100 hours of learning each year. |
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Children with 90% attendance or below miss out on valuable time for social development within their peer group. |
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Children with average attendance of 90% miss over half a year of education by the time they leave secondary education. We know positive attendance prepares children for their transition into secondary education. |
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National research suggests that 90% attendance at secondary school = SATS level drop in achievement by the end of year 9 and a GCSE grade lower in all subjects by year 11 |
