Attendance

Why is regular school attendance so important?

We work closely with children and parents in connection with attendance so that each child can achieve their full potential. By law, all children of compulsory school age must receive a suitable full-time education. Once your child is registered at school, you are legally responsible for making sure that they attend regularly and on time.  If your child fails to do so, you risk getting a penalty notice or being prosecuted. You also need to think about the negative impact upon the following:

  • their learning
  • their friendships
  • their self-esteem and confidence

 

 

 

   

We monitor the attendance of every child in the school. We work with and support those children and their families who are not attending school without sufficient reason. 95% attendance sounds good, but means that your child misses:

  • one half day each fortnight
  • two weeks every school year
  • over three-quarters of a school year in a school career

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

As a school we cannot authorise holidays in term time, unless there are exceptional circumstances.  If you are planning a holiday in term time please write to Mr Lording to ask for permission. Please remember unless there are exceptional circumstances it is very unlikely that we can authorise the absence from school during term time.

If the request for absence during term time has been declined and you still decide to take your child out of school then you will receive a fixed penalty notice from Brighton and Hove City Council.

The fixed penalty for going on holiday in term time is £60 per child per parent, e.g. two parents take their two children on unauthorised holiday in term time = £240 fine. If this fine is not paid within 21 days it then increases to £120 per child per parent. If the fine still is not paid then the local authority will seek prosecution for non-payment under caution.

Please note that money from fines is not paid to the school.

Timekeeping is also important in the education of your child. If your child is persistently late then they are missing out on important learning opportunities at the start of the lesson.

At Mile Oak Primary School we like to encourage and praise children who attend school regularly. 

Some of what we do at Mile Oak Primary School to help improve attendance:

Weekly Class Competition

Each Monday we celebrate the classes with the highest attendance for the previous week. The winning class in each Key Stage gets the Attendance Cup.

Termly Punctuality Prize