Attendance at Haydock English Martyrs
Attendance
At Haydock English Martyrs, we recognise that good levels of attendance and punctuality are key in supporting a child’s development and allowing them to fulfil their academic, social and emotional potential.
Studies have shown that high levels of absence can have a direct impact on overall achievement and progress, due to lost learning time. Children who miss school regularly may also find this impacts on their ability to build positive relationships and friendships with other children and staff.
Haydock English Martyrs is committed to maximising the education of all its pupils and aims to work with parents to ensure this can be achieved. Whilst we recognise that some absences are unavoidable (e.g. for ill health, medical appointments or leave for exceptional circumstances agreed in advance with the school) we hope you will support us in supporting your child’s learning and development by ensuring they attend school regularly and on time.
This year, we are aiming to achieve an attendance target of 96%, for every child. This is in line with the current national expectation for school attendance.
To support us in achieving this target, we have a clear Attendance and Absence Policy, which is available in the policies section of the website or, in hard copy, via the school office.
The policy makes clear the School’s expectations in terms of regular attendance and punctuality, defines “absence” (both authorised and unauthorised), sets out procedures for reporting absences and explains how to request term time leave for exceptional circumstances (updated to reflect recent clarification in the law governing this area).
It also goes into detail about the School’s procedures for how we go about monitoring levels of attendance and the role of our school based Attendance Officer and the Local Authority Education Welfare Officer in supporting and, where necessary challenging, high levels of absence.
We would encourage you, as parents and carers, to read the updated Attendance and Absence Policy and get in touch with the school should you have any concerns or queries.
Working with Parents and Carers to Improve Attendance
Attendance is monitored weekly by Mrs Bradshaw, Mrs Gokoglu and Mrs Webster. As a school we meet frequently with our Educational Welfare Officer, who ensures we are adhering to policy and targeting the appropriate children.
At Haydock English Martyrs we will work tirelessly with parents and carers to improve their child’s attendance, meeting informally in the first instance and then more formally in the second. During attendance meetings we will look to establish the barriers to improving the pupil’s attendance and set clear targets moving forward. This will be done in collaboration with the parent and carer and monitored closely by the senior leadership team.
At Haydock English Martyrs we recognise and reward positive attendance in the following way
Weekly – The class with the highest attendance is announced in our weekly celebration assembly and that class will receive 5 minutes extra play time. Parents are notified of the winning class via the school newsletter.
Termly – Those children with 96% attendance or above will receive an attendance certificate within celebration assembly (Christmas, Easter and Summer).
Yearly – Those children who we have seen the greatest improvement in their attendance or their attendance has been consistently high all year are rewarded with a group treat.
If you are unsure if your child should be in school check out the NHS guidance:
