Attendance
Attendance Documents
If you like to discuss your child’s attendance or require any support to improve your child’s attendance please contact one of our Learning Mentors.
What is unacceptable absence at Northwood?
- Holiday
- Shopping
- Birthday treats and trips
- Looking after others at home
- Tiredness
- Non-urgent medical or dental appointments
What does the Law say?
- You must inform the school if your child cannot attend on 0151 477 8630.
- You have a legal responsibility to make sure your child gets provided with a full time education between the ages of 4 and 16.
- You can be fined up to £2500, placed on electronic monitoring, or even imprisoned if your child’s attendance is below expected.
- You could be given a parenting order, which means you will have to attend a parenting class.
- You may be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £60 (£120 if not paid within 28 days).
- You may be contacted by, an Education Welfare Officer, at your home to discuss the problem further.
How can you help your child develop a routine…
- In the evening, have a routine of dinner, homework, watch TV, read and pack bag for the following day.
- Make sure your child has plenty of sleep and is not awake late using their phone, games console, computer or iPad.
- Breakfast and a drink in the morning helps to speed up the metabolism, making children more alert and ready for learning.
Don’t give in to your child…
- You are the adult and it is your responsibility to make important decisions.
- If your child complains of feeling unwell, make sure they are truly ill before allowing time off school.
- If your child regularly complains of feeling ill, with no medical reason, contact your child’s Learning Mentor or class teacher, so the matter can be investigated further.
Reward your child…
- We reward your child at school for acceptable attendance and attainment.
- You could add your own rewards at home – these can be as simple as verbal praise, or telling family and friends about successes.
- Better attendance leads to better qualifications allowing your child to choose their own career path.
Did you know?
- The Government expect all students to have 97% attendance.
- 90% attendance is not classed as good and means missing on average ½ a day EVERY week – your child will also be classed as Persistent Absentee (PA) and additional support or sanctions may be given.
- 90% attendance is the equivalent of missing 4 whole weeks in one school year - the equivalent of missing 100 hours of learning in lessons.
- 80% attendance is the same as missing 1 full day a week and missing 1 full year of education at Northwood.
- A 2 week holiday each year, whilst at Northwood, will mean your child has missed 14 weeks of learning – over ¼ of a school year.
- A 2 week holiday automatically reduces your child to below 95% attendance
- School truants are 6 times more likely to be unemployed.
Application for Leave of Absence in Term Time
From 1st September 2013, the Department of Education changed the regulations regarding requests for family holidays during term time. The changes mean there is no legal entitlement for parents to take their children on holiday during term time. The new regulations also make it clear that Head Teachers may not authorise leave during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
All requests for leave of absence in term time must be made in advance .
Knowsley council will use the full range of sanctions available, such as Fixed Penalty Notices, where leave of absence is taken without the permission of the school. The council will regularly monitor school absence during term-time and will work with Head Teachers to ensure parents adhere to the new legislation. Link to Knowsley attendance strategy can be found here
Attendance Categories
Category | Threshold Attendance | Actual Attendance | Whole Days Absent | Learning Hours Lost |
Excellent | 100% 99% | 190 days 188 days | 0 2 | 0 10 |
Good | 98% 97% 96% | 186 days 184 days 182.5 days | 4 6 7.5 | 20 30 37.5 |
Cause for concern | 95% 94% 93% 92% 91% | 180.5 days 179 days 177 days 175 days 173 days | 9.5 11 13 15 17 | 47.5 55 65 75 85 |
Serious Cause for Concern | 90% 89% 88% 87% 86% | 171 days 169 days 167 days 165 days 163 days | 19 21 23 25 27 | 95 105 115 125 135 |
Critical | 85% 84% 83% 82% 81% 80% | 161.5 days 159.5 days 158 days 156 days 154 days 152 days | 28.5 30.5 32 34 36 38 | 142.5 152.5 160 170 180 190 |