Attendance

Our whole school Attendance target is 96%.

Holy Family Catholic Primary School is committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all of its pupils and recognises that this can only be achieved by supporting and promoting excellent school attendance for all.  This is based upon the belief that only by attending school regularly and punctually will children and young people be able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them.  High attainment depends on good attendance.

Everyone – including pupils, parents and carers, all school staff, school governors, Local Authority, external agencies – have a responsibility for ensuring good school attendance and have important roles to play.  We are committed to working in partnership with families and other agencies to achieve the best outcomes for children via the early help pathways available.

Holy Family is a successful, welcoming school which you and your child/children plays their part in making it so. We aim for an environment which enables and encourages all members of our school community to achieve excellence. For children to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly, and your child should be at school, on time, every day unless the reason for the absence is exceptional.

All staff (teaching and support) at our school have a key role to play in supporting and promoting excellent school attendance and will work to provide an environment in which all our pupils are eager to learn, feel valued members of the school community and look forward to coming to school every day.  Staff also have a responsibility to set a good example in matters relating to their own attendance and punctuality.

Regular attendance is so important as it gives your child the best opportunity to learn. Any absences will affect the pattern of your child’s schooling and consistent absences may seriously affect learning.  Any child’s absence disrupts teaching routines, not only for your child but for others in the same class.

The school liaises closely with our Local Authority and other agencies, assisting in the assessment of need in order for appropriate support to be given.  This initial pathway enables further referrals to external agencies to be made, and further support acquired to support families to remove any barriers that are preventing regular attendance.

Ensuring your child’s regular attendance at school is your legal responsibility and permitting absence from school without a good reason is an offence in law and may result in prosecution.

We monitor attendance carefully and this includes core group of learners such as SEND, PP and EAL as well as persistent and severe absenteeism to support pupils in these groups to improve through a carefully planned approach. 

If your child is too ill to attend school you must notify the office as soon as possible, and then each day that they are ill. You can do this by telephone or email.

If your child is late for school they must be brought in through the office and the adult with them must sign them in.

Holidays during the school year are not allowed and ill not be authorised. Penalty notices may be issued if your child is absent without permission. Please check the term dates and our Attendance Policy (https://www.holyfamilyprimary.com/page/?title=2026%2D2027&pid=354&action=saved) before booking any holidays. If you need to take your child out of school please address your written request to Miss Hilton. Any absence school have not been informed about in writing will be unauthorised.

Attendance and punctuality are monitored weekly. Parents will be contacted by letter, if their child's attendance and/or punctuality falls below the expected standard and further monitoring will take place if there is no improvement. This may eventually lead to the serving of a penalty notice.