Attendance

We aim to excite and enthuse children every day and for children to engage in their learning. To do this and for children to make excellent progress we expect children to attend school every day. We expect all parents to support our attendance policy and ensure their children attends school every day (unless of course, they are sick).

Our Attendance Expectations

We aim for pupils to achieve an attendance figure of above 97%.

To encourage high levels of attendance, certificates are awarded to children at the end of the Autumn, Spring and Summer term for 100% attendance.

There is strong statistical evidence to show that students who have excellent attendance are more successful in school and achieve a significantly higher standard. The impact of reduced attendance is shown in the table below.

The threshold for persistent absence is 90%. This means that students with attendance less than 90% run the risk of being referred to the Education Investigation Service.

As a school, we realise that there are occasions when young people cannot attend school because they are ill, injured, have suffered a close family bereavement or something of a similar nature. We are also aware that there have been a number of viruses and sickness bugs recently. At these times we fully understand their absence and would always endeavour to be completely supportive.

However, there are occasions when young people are absent with minor complaints when they perhaps could be in school, learning. It is on these occasions when we ask for your support in getting your son or daughter into school to ensure they have the greatest chance of achieving their full potential. We will of course support you fully with this.

What can you do to help your child?

Developing the habit of going to school regularly, is vital so your child does not miss out on important ideas and skills they need for future learning.

You can help by:

• talking positively about school so your child is happy to go each day
• setting start and finish times for breakfast or bringing your child to our free breakfast club at 8am each day
• setting times and a routine for going to, and getting out of, bed and getting enough sleep each night 
• encouraging your child to have their school uniform and school bag ready the night before 
• spending some time each day together, reading for enjoyment and talking about what happened in their day.

Is my child ok to attend school?

Not all illnesses require your child to take time off school. Please contact school to discuss the symptoms your child is displaying. You will be advised based on the information you provide in line with School Exclusions and Health Protection for School Facilities. 

We are able to help support your child’s illness and medical needs in school and have trained members of staff who can administer medication. If your child requires medication, medical care or a risk assessment following an ongoing illness or injury, please contact the main office to complete the appropriate forms. Manor Way Primary Academy likes to give all our pupils every opportunity to maximise their primary school experience and we will work with our families to help support and overcome any barriers. 

Please only keep your child home if necessary.

Our approach to attendance

All children should aim for 100% attendance and a minimum of 97% attendance is expected. If attendance falls below this, it can have a significant impact on the number of lessons missed, which then impacts progress and achievement.

The table below shows our approach to dealing with attendance that falls below the expected level.

Attendance Competitions

We like to celebrate everything our children accomplish at Manor Way Primary and we give all children the opportunity to celebrate their attendance. 

We  do a weekly class league table. Every week, each class will earn points based on the overall class attendance.  

By doing a weekly league table, we are able to include those pupils who may require time off school due to reasons beyond their control. 

We send out a Parentmail to those children who have 100% attendance each term, as well as 100% attendance certificates for those children who have completed the whole school year.