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Elaine Primary School

Attendance

Attendance and Punctuality

Excellent attendance at school is important to allow a child or young person to fulfil their potential.
We think it is very important that all our pupils benefit from 190 days of learning to ensure they make progress and achieve the results they should. If a school can improve its attendance by 1%, this can result in a 5 - 6% improvement in attainment. We are asking you to support the school by ensuring that your child achieves excellent attendance.

Here are some of the ways in which you can help our school achieve excellent attendance:

  • The school is closed for 14 weeks a year when you can take holidays and travel abroad. Where there are exceptional circumstances for a pupil to be absent during term time, you can make a written request to the Headteacher. However, the Headteacher's decision is final. You do not have a right to take term time leave.
  • We expect pupils to arrive at the school on time. Late arrivals disrupt the education of others. Pupils arriving after the register has closed will be marked in the register as having an unauthorised absence.
  • We do not expect pupils to come to school when they are sick, but those with regular sickness absence will be expected to provide us with medical evidence before further absences are authorised.
  • Avoid medical and dental appointments during the school day.
  • If you or your children are having difficulties that impact on attendance, please make an appointment with a member of staff to discuss additional support.

On the rare occasion that your child is unwell you must telephone the school as early as possible to inform us that they will be absent.  If a telephone call is not received the school will contact you to ensure your child is safe and request the reason for absence. Please telephone 01634 294817.

Medical evidence is requested by the school for any absences to be authorised and can be a copy of a prescription, an appointment card or the medication itself.

Elaine Primary School understands the need for pupils to take medication from time to time, however it is school policy that only prescribed medication is permitted.  These are stored securely with the relevant phase team.  Under no circumstances will children be allowed to carry non-prescribed medicines or be issued them by staff members.

Attendance is monitored closely by our Attendance Advisory Practitioner from Medway Council.

You will receive an update on your child's attendance at least three times a year. If your child is unable to attend school please call the office by 8:30am.

Finally, please keep your contact information up to date so that we can always contact you if we need to.

 

COVID-19

From Friday 1st April the long term government strategy for ‘living with Covid’ came into place. The UK approach to managing COVID -19 is now very similar to how we manage other forms of respiratory infections as the success of the vaccination programme means that most people with COVID-19 will only experience very mild illness.

Below we have outlined what this means for us as an education setting:

  • Children with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or mild cough, who are otherwise well, can continue to attend school.
  • Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and where possible avoid contact with other people. They can come back to school when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough.
  • If a child or young person has a positive COVID19 test result they should stay at home and where possible avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test. The risk of passing the infection on to others is much lower after 3 days if they feel well and do not have a high temperature.
  • Children and young people who live with someone who has a positive COVID19 test result should continue to attend as normal.

We know that the last two years have been very challenging for us all and we want to thank you for your support during this period.

 

If there are any concerns you may have which you feel prevent you from ensuring your child’s regular attendance and punctuality to school, please contact the school office on 01634 294817 or email office@elaine.medway.sch.uk