At Latimer Primary School 
we feel that good attendance at school is one of the fundamentals for children’s wellbeing and learning.
Our rate of attendance has been in the top 20% of schools nationally for many years and this is because we work together as a team with families to understand why pupils miss school and support parents to bring their children to school, on time, every day.
Why is it so important? Some people may think that missing the odd day of school here and there can’t do much harm. But even taking a short amount of time out of school can be a problem. Your child will miss important learning and may fall behind. If there are gaps in their knowledge this will impact their learning later on in school. There could be other problems too– children who miss school are missing out on time with their friends and forming strong relationships and friendships.
When should your child take a day off? Your child should come to school every day, unless they are too unwell to attend or if they have a condition which may impact those around them. Many children wake up with early morning aches or pains, often these do pass quickly once they are in school and if they are unwell at school we will always contact you to let you know.
If you aren’t sure if you’re child should come to school due to illness the NHS has a great website to support parents. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
If your child is too unwell to come to school please send a message via the parent app or leave a message on the school answerphone. Please ensure that we know by 9:30 why your child is not in school.
What if my child is too anxious to go to school? Children can sometimes feel a little bit worried about going to school. Mostly, this is a very normal emotion and its important that children understand that worry is often manageable.
It’s important to recognise that going into school can help children to feel less worried than letting them stay at home so we do ask that you support your child in coming to school in these circumstances.
What about children with SEND? We know that some children face greater barriers to attendance, such as pupils with long term medical conditions or special educational needs and disabilities.
We are very used to working with children and families who face complex barriers to attendance related to special educational needs. We are able to offer medical care plans and many reasonable adjustments to the day for our children. There aren’t many conditions or situations that we haven’t supported families with so please do contact us to if you do need support.
What if we have an event to go to or we wish to go on holiday? We do not authorise absence in term time for holidays unless in exceptional circumstances. Please do not take your child out of school and tell us that they are unwell. This is unfair on the your child, who want to share their news with their friends in school- and often a good suntan does give the game away!
We do understand that their may other be key events that it is essential your child attend and we may consider authorising these absences for a short period. If you do wish to remove your child from school for any reason, please complete the leave of absence form available from the school office.
If families do take their child out of school for an uauthorised holiday we reserve the right to pass this to Leicestershire Local Authority for a penalty notice.
What happens if there are concerns regarding my child being absent from school: We work closely with our families where there are concerns regarding absences from school. We will always work to find out what the barriers are and how we can help. Our school office and attendance lead will monitor absences regularly and contact those familes where attendance is a concern. We have many different tools to support you to bring your child to school and ensure they can access all of the opportunities available to them. If there aren’t improvements following school intervention, we will contact services such as the inclusion team, attendance team and Early Help from Leicestershire Local Authority for further support. We also reserve the right to request medical evidence for regular absences due to illness.
What happens if my child is late? All children should arrive by 8:45am. Arrivals after this time will be marked as late. If your child arrives after 9:15am they will be marked as unauthorised absence which will impact their attendance %. Arriving late to school is distressing for children, as they miss the input for their lessons and can also feel embarrassed coming into the classroom when their friends are all settled. If you are struggling to get to school on time, please do contact the school office for support.
