Attendance & Punctuality

Attendance at school from the term after your child's 5th birthday is a legal requirement.

Regular school attendance is essential if pupils are to make the most of the educational opportunities available to them. Irregular attendance disrupts continuity of learning, leading to underachievement, and can have a negative impact on children's social and emotional well-being.

Every Day Matters... every pupil should attend school every day.

Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school regularly

There are two types of absence: Authorised and Unauthorised.

Authorised absences are those permitted for a valid reason such as illness, medical or dental appointments and family emergencies.

Unauthorised absences are those where children away from school, without a valid reason. If parents or carers do not let the school know why their child is away, it is counted as an unauthorised absence. Meadow Green Primary School is committed to working with families, to ensure the best possible attendance for their children, and the Attendance Team will therefore follow up irregular attendance and persistent absence, to support parents and carers.

The Government and Local Authority do not support children being absent during the school term for holidays. If it is known in advance that a child will need to be kept off school, other than for medical appointments, parents should complete a 'Leave of Absence Request' for the relevant day or days. Leave of absence will be granted in exceptional circumstances, at the headteacher's discretion.

Every Minute Matters... all pupils should arrive on time for school.

Parents are also responsible for making sure children are in school on time. Lateness is not only disruptive for the learning of your own child, but disrupts the learning for all children in a class. Persistent lateness is monitored and will be followed up by the Attendance Team and Headteacher.