It is a timely opportunity to share with you some of the research about school attendance.  In recent days I have spoken to a number of parents either about unexplained absences or attendance situations where their child had already been away from school for more than ten days, without there being a significant health event, personal family matter or an approved leave for a holiday.

Naturally, all parents want a good education for their child to ensure that they have the best opportunities in adult life.  Children get only one chance at a good education and a child’s future may be affected by not attending school.  Over the years I have witnessed the outcome when children do not attend school regularly.  They struggle to keep up with work and on a busy school day it is difficult to find the extra time to help a child catch up.  They also miss out on the social side of school life.  Learning is a social activity and poor attendance can also affect your child’s ability to make and keep friendships which is a vital part of the learning process.

Being on time is also vital.  Arriving late to school can be disruptive for your child, their teacher and the other children in their class.

Sometimes when we are in the mess of daily life, we forget the importance of getting our kids to school regularly and on time. In primary school, less than 65% of children achieve good results in English and Mathematics with an average of fifteen days absence a year compared to almost 90% where the average is less than eight days. Absence issues can creep up on you and you will be surprised at how quickly your child can accumulate fifteen days of absence within a year.

The teachers have been asked to follow up student absence with a parent when it goes beyond ten days, firstly to establish if there are any emotional, health or personal matters regarding your child that may be affecting their learning.  Secondly, to ensure our responsibilities concerning the legal requirements of school attendance are followed through.  Should you get a phone call from your child’s teacher please approach this conversation with the belief that it comes from a genuine care and concern for the child under their care at school.

Frequently parents will tell us that they phoned the school or sent through an email. Whilst this is always appreciated, unless the email has your signature on it, it cannot be used as an official explanation for your child’s absence. This is why it is important that if you don’t send in a letter explaining the absence in writing, you will need to go into the Compass portal to do this electronically.

Go gently,

Michael Reardon
Principal