Peace, Love, Service - a Church of England School Little Thetford C of E Primary School Green Hill Little Thetford Ely CB6 3HD Headteacher: Mr R Litten Tel No: 01353 649260 Fax No: 01353 648365 Email: [email protected] 8th January 2015 Dear Parents We all know that being present is an important part of school life. It is obvious that there is a clear link between attendance and a child’s ability to fit in and form friendships and the levels they achieve in reading, writing and mathematics. The more school they miss, the harder it is for them to fit in and catch up with their work. At the moment, our whole school attendance is 96.25%, which is well on the way to our target of 97%! A big thank you for making this possible. The table below shows how quickly time off adds up and the detrimental effect it has upon the education of a child. Time Missed in: One Year Reception and Key Stage 1 Key Stage 2 Primary School Twelve years to end of Secondary School 95% Attendance 90% Attendance Two weeks Four Weeks Six weeks (half a term) One term 85% Attendance Half a term One and a half terms Eight weeks One term Two terms Two terms One year Almost two years One term Two terms Over one year Our data analysis shows that there are some children who are repeatedly absent on Fridays and Mondays and others who are absent for a week, either prior to or following a school holiday. Careful consideration must be given to how appropriate an absence situation is and the repercussions that it will cause, before leave is requested. We would like to remind all parents and carers that routine appointments for dentists, chiropodists, hairdressers etc should be arranged during school holiday time or after school has closed for the day. The removal of a pupil from the school premises for a non-urgent appointment has to be recorded as absence by the school. Cont… We are also aware that a child may have serious and long term ill health and do support those children and families accordingly. However, when we analyse attendance levels we often find that the absence rates for individual children are due to repeatedly feeling ill or tired. Such absences can build up to significant amounts of time away from school. Often, regular illness may indicate that there is an underlying medical issue which needs resolving through the GP or hospital. Because of this, further absences might only be authorised with medical evidence such as GP letter/hospital appointment card. Children should be in attendance at school for both the morning and the afternoon sessions. If your child is unwell then we ask parents to telephone or call in to the school office and leave a message, giving their name and class along with the illness causing the absence. If a message is not received by the school office then your child will be marked down as having an unauthorised absence until we are notified otherwise. If your child is leaving early for a medical appointment, it is requested that the school is notified via a letter to the class teacher, who will then pass it on to the school office. Alternatively, please notify the school office directly, who will then pass a message on to the class teacher. Hospital appointments must be supported by an appointment letter. We are aware that there are always exceptional circumstances which may affect attendance and, as a school, we are always sympathetic, particularly if a child is ill. We ask that you keep the school informed so we can in turn keep the EWO (Educational Welfare Officer) fully informed. All too often, poor attendance can hide bigger issues. As a school, we have access to a wide range of support for families from the Locality Team, which includes the School Nurse and Family Support Workers who can provide, amongst other things, parenting classes; behaviour management advice; support for ADHD; domestic violence support; adult literacy and numeracy classes; child counsellors and therapists. If you would like to make an appointment, please contact either Mrs McPherson or myself. I thank you in advance for your support and co-operation. Yours sincerely Rob Litten Headteacher