Attendance, Absence and Holidays

For the latest guidance (March 2021) for Birmingham Schools regarding attendance for children read the letter below:

Attendance statistics

 

Academic year 2019/2020: 94.65%

Academic year 2018/2019: 95.15%

Academic year 2017/2018: 94.89%

Academic Year 2016/2017: 95.26%

Academic Year 2015/2016: 95.01%

Extended Holidays Abroad

 

The school follows national and local guidance in declining to authorise absence for visits abroad.

 

We are unable to authorise term time holidays.

 

See below for the latest guidance on Term Time Leave.

Attendance and Punctuality

The school works hard every day to ensure that pupils attend school. We have many challenges to overcome but have improved the numbers of pupils who come to school year on year.

 

Conway Primary aims to ensure that all children receive an education that maximises opportunities for each pupil to realise their full potential.  Our target for attendance is 96% and above.

 

Attendance 2019/20:

In 2019/20 our attendance figure was 94.65% including the Nursery children. Parents - please continue to work with us to improve this figure.

 

The school will strive to provide a welcoming, caring environment, whereby each member of the school community feels valued and supported. School staff will work with pupils and their families to ensure each pupil attends school regularly and punctually.

 

Please continue to support the school by ensuring your child attends every day. Thank you

 

REMEMBER: EVERY SCHOOL DAY COUNTS!

 

Good Common Sense

Use good common sense when deciding whether your child needs to stay at home. Work on the basis that sick children belong at home and well children belong in school.  Please remember that early morning aches and pains often pass, so don’t keep your child at home ‘just in case’ when they could be learning in class.  If your child feels unwell at the start of the school day and then feels better later on in the morning, then please do bring your child into school.   The less learning they miss the better.  We will monitor them for you and will of course contact you if there is an issue.

 

Good Attendance

Having a good education will help to give your child the best possible start in life. We believe that children who do not attend school regularly are more likely to:-

• Fall behind in their school work
• Find it difficult to make and keep friends
• Be unhappy at school
• Become involved in antisocial behaviour

 

Setting good attendance patterns from an early age will also help your child later on. Employers want to recruit people who are reliable. So children who have a poor school attendance record may have less chance of getting a good job.

 

What is Good Attendance?

The Government’s target for school attendance is 96% and above.  This is also the target for Conway Primary. 

You may think that 90% attendance is good however imagine….

Anika is in year 5 and her attendance is 90%.

This means that Anika is absent from school the equivalent of one half day every week.

At the end of year 5 that would be the equivalent of 4 whole weeks absent from school.

If Anika continues to attend for only 90% of the time, in her 6 years in primary school she will miss over half a year of school.

Is 90% attendance good enough?

Please note, according to government guidelines, children with attendance below 90% are considered persistent absentees.

 

What can parents do to help?

Ensure your child attends school every day and on time.

If your child is not well enough to attend contact the school on the first day of absence.

Try to make dental and medical appointments outside of school time or at weekends.

Take family holidays during the school holiday.

We are unable to authorise term time holidays.

Attend parents afternoons and school events regularly.

Talk to your child about school and take an interest in the work that they are doing.

Contact your child’s school immediately if you have any concerns about their progress or welfare. 

 

School Attendance Initiatives:

The minimum level of attendance for this school is 95% attendance and we will keep you updated regularly about progress to this level and how your child’s attendance compares. Our target is to achieve better than this however because we know that good attendance is the key to successful schooling.

 

• Throughout the school year we monitor absences and punctuality to show us where improvements need to be made.   If a child's attendance becomes a cause for concern, then we will meet with parents to identify the reasons and  work out how best we can support the child and parent in improving  attendance.
• Children with 100% attendance each term are awarded a certificate and spend time on the bouncy castle.
• Children with 100% attendance for the whole academic year are treated to a trip or a present at the end of the school year.
• Classes with 100% attendance each week are awarded extra play time/golden time.
• Children with the most improved attendance and punctuality are given a certificate in celebration assembly.

 

If your child is absent from school then please contact us on 0121 675 0622 on the first day of your child's absence.