We celebrate good attendance in worship each week. The class with the highest attendance for the week gets to look after Attendance Ted for the week - he gets up to lots of adventures!

At St Nicholas at Wade we believe we offer a supportive approach to attendance and encourage our families to contact us should there be any barriers to your child arriving at school on time every day. Please ensure you read the following and review any holiday plans during term-time you may have as a family.

New Attendance Rules:

You will know that if a child misses just one day of school, that is one day’s worth of education lost. If it’s more than one day, those losses will be cumulative and the effect on long-term prospects could not be more damaging. Prior to Covid, absenteeism had been on the decline, but since the lockdowns, it appears attitudes towards attendance have changed and we are now seeing a steep increase in absenteeism once again - around 380,000 fewer pupils were persistently off school last year than the year before. This does not take into account the number of children not attending school due to SEND/SEMH.

Ministers have now published guidance on managing school attendance that will become mandatory from September 2024. Here's what you need to know.

Penalty Notices:

Only two Penalty Notices can be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within a three year rolling period, and any second notice within that period is charged at a higher rate:

• The first Penalty Notice issued to a parent in respect of a particular pupil will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.
• A second Penalty Notice issued to the same parent in respect of the same pupil is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days.
• A third Penalty Notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within three years of the date of issue of the first. In a case where the national threshold is met for a third time (or subsequent times) within those three years, and KCC will take alternative action instead which may include prosecution in the Magistrates Courts under section 444 of the Education Act 1996

National fine thresholds:

From September, schools will have to consider a fine if a pupil misses 10 sessions (half days) of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. They should “not have a blanket position of issuing or not issuing penalty notices”. The threshold can be met with “any combination of unauthorised absence”. For example, four sessions in term time plus six instances of arriving late.

Long-Term Sickness to be Flagged with Local Authorities:

Schools will have to give councils the name and address of sick pupils who they believe will miss 15 consecutive or cumulative days. Schools will also be “expected to inform a pupil’s social worker and/or youth offending team worker if there are unexplained absences from school”.

Mental Health Awareness:

All schools should now be particularly mindful of pupils absent from school due to mental or physical ill health or their special educational needs and/or disabilities and provide them with additional support.

The guidance acknowledges “many children will experience normal but difficult emotions that make them nervous about attending school, such as worries about friendships, schoolwork, examinations or variable moods”. But it is “important to note that these pupils are still expected to attend school regularly”.

St Nicholas at Wade Church of England Primary School will consider every application individually; our policy is NOT to grant leave of absence for a holiday other than in the most exceptional circumstances. Time off school for a family holiday is not a right. An application must be made, with appropriate evidence, in advance of the intended holiday.

This Government Blog explains the new rules.