Give your child the best start in life- every school day counts!
Missing a few days of school here and there may not seem like a big deal, but research shows that it can have a significant impact on children’s learning. At Randlay, our curriculum is sequential and progressive, which means that units consist of learning which build up over time. Due to the amount of knowledge children are expected to know by the end of each year, work missed is understandably hard to catch up on, which can then lead to gaps in children’s learning. Friendships can also be affected by persistent absence: it can be hard for a child who misses lots of school to form relationships with their classmates. Here at Randlay, we work closely with parents to ensure that children are in school learning.
Learning
Key reasons why it is so important for children to attend school:
- To learn
- To have fun
- To make new friends
- To experience new things in life
- To develop awareness of other cultures, religion, ethnicity and gender differences
- To achieve
- To gain qualifications
- To develop new skills
- To build confidence and self-esteem
- To have the best possible start in life
How can you help with your child’s attendance?
- Establish a good routine in the mornings and evenings so your child is prepared for the school day ahead
- Make sure your child goes to school regularly and follows the school rules
- Ensure your child arrives at school on time – not late (many children feel embarrassed when they go into their classroom late)
- Arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours when possible
- Always inform the school if your child is absent due to illness – expect a courtesy phone call to check on your child at the end of the day
- Take family holidays outside term time
- Talk to your child about school and take an interest in their school work (including homework)
- Attend parent evenings
- Praise and reward your child’s achievements at school
- Discuss any problems or difficulties with the school – staff are there to help and will be supportive
How we monitor attendance
We monitor attendance on a daily, weekly, termly and yearly basis. Our attendance team work closely with the local Education Welfare Officer to ensure there are high levels of attendance at Randlay. We recognise there can be relationships between poor attendance and behaviour, which we closely monitor.
We understand that there may be genuine reasons why your child is absent from school, but where there are not, we encourage all children to attend school every day. Please speak to a member of the office or pastoral team with any questions or concerns regarding attendance.
Something to think about…90% may seem like an acceptable level of attendance but in reality, this level of attendance means that your child will miss half a school day each week or 19 days of school during a year- that’s nearly 4 school weeks!