Attendance and Punctuality
The Importance of Good School Attendance and Punctuality
Research shows that good school attendance impacts upon children’s success in learning. Good attendance helps children to achieve good results, helps them to fulfil their potential and gives them a chance of a better future. At Fryent, we are committed to ensuring that each and every child in our school fulfils their potential. To help us achieve this we want all of our children to have the best possible attendance.
Mainstream- The school day has a soft where where pupils can arrive between 8:35-8:45am. Anytime arrival after this time, your child will be marked down as 'Late'. The school day finishes at 3:15pm. This means there are a total of 33.5 hours in the school week.
Opal- Transport arrives at 9:30am. The school day starts at 9:30am and finishes at 3:30pm.
This year we want to see all our pupils with a minimum of 96% attendance!
Every day that your child is absent from school is an opportunity missed. Schools and parents / carers have a shared responsibility to ensure that children attend school regularly and on time.
We have two very special attendance incentives running this academic year to promote perfect attendance, team work and collaboration. The first is aimed at each individual pupil, where they can be awarded a perfect attendance wristband each term, this then amounts to other exciting rewards (please see below). The second incentive is a non-uniform day each Friday for classes who get 100%
attendance!
Punctuality is also just as important as attendance. Our school gates open at 8:35am every morning and close at 8:45am. Your child will be registered as ‘late’ (L) anytime past 8:45am. It is important that children arrive in school on time as it supports them to learn good
timekeeping and also reduces classroom disruption for the other children and themselves.
Every minute counts!
The table below illustrates how being just a few minutes late can have a detrimental effect to your child’s learning and shows figures over the course of a year.
| Minutes lost per day | School Days Lost Per Year |
| 5 | 3 |
| 10 | 6.5 |
| 15 | 10 |
| 20 | 13 |
| 25 | 15 |
Parental support is critical in ensuring that children achieve in education. At Fryent we work closely with families to support them to achieve the best possible outcomes for their children.
A day off here and there adds up!
| Days Absent From School | Percentage Attendance |
| 0 | 100% |
| 10 | 95% |
| 19 | 90% |
| 28 | 85% |
What can parents / carers do to help?
1. Ensure your child attends school every day and on time.
2. If your child is not well enough to attend, contact the school or respond to the absence text on the first day of absence.
3. Try to make dental and medical appointments outside of school time or at weekends.
4. Take family holidays during the school holiday. We are unable to authorize term-time holidays.
5. Contact us immediately if you need help or support with your child’s attendance or punctuality.
Let’s work together to achieve consistently high attendance and punctuality.
There are only 190 school days in a year; we want to see every child at school every day because every school day counts!
In March, the Government published The White Paper, which schools in England have to work by. As a school, it is our duty of care to ensure children are in full time education. We have to take a zero-tolerance approach to absences. We will not be authorising any time off school for holiday. If you choose to take your children away during term time, not only will you have to meet with the Education Welfare Services in Brent, but you will also automatically be issued with a fine. This fine can be up to £120 for each adult per child.
Parents/Carers- Let's work together to improve school attendance. Here is some guidance for you...
