Attendance at Christ Church

At Christ Church we believe that for children to achieve their full potential, they need to attend school regularly and punctually; we are committed to working in partnership with our families to ensure this happens. We recognise that positive behaviour and good attendance are essential in order for pupils to get the most of their school experience, including their attainment, wellbeing and wider life chances.

The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.

Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly, on time. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.

The Department for Education (DfE) has produced statutory guidance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools, and local authorities. It is called “Working together to improve school attendance” and it includes a National Framework in relation to absence and the use of legal sanctions. Our School Attendance Policy reflects the requirements and principles of that guidance.

The need for regular school attendance is given a high priority by all Wirral schools.  

The Supreme Court ruled in April 2017 (Platt v Isle of Wight) that regular attendance is ‘in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school’. In Wirral Schools, this is interpreted as every day that the school requires a child to attend, unless the absence has been approved by the Headteacher.

At Christ Church school, we believe in developing good patterns of attendance and set high expectations for the attendance and punctuality for all our pupils from the outset.  It is a central part of our school’s vision, values, ethos and day to day life.  We recognise the strong connections between attendance, attainment, safeguarding and wellbeing.

It is important that schools recognise and celebrate good and improved attendance. This can be done in a variety of ways, and some ideas are listed below:

• Attendance ambassador for every class (Y1-Y6)

• Attendance display in every class room

• Attendance has a high profile in whole school assemblies each week

• Praise postcard sent home to recognise and celebrate improved attendance

• Certificates 

• Weekly attendnace winners

• Extra play time

Locality Attendance Officers from the Authority’s Attendance Service may also send positive letters to parents to recognise and reinforce progress made in terms of securing their child’s attendance. We may also invite Locality Attendance Officers to be involved in celebration assemblies.   

Regular and punctual attendance at school is a legal requirement. When children arrive late and miss the start of the school day, they can miss work and vital information for the day. Late arriving pupils also disrupt lessons, and this can be embarrassing and upsetting for the child. Lateness can also encourage absence, as some pupils would rather not attend school at all, than arrive late.

• Registers are marked by 9:05 am If children arrive in class after this time, they will receive a late mark in the register (code L).

• In line with recommendations from the Department for Education (DfE), registers will close at 9:30 am If children arrive after this time, they will be recorded as having arrived after closure of registers (code U). This counts as an unauthorised absence for that session.

• Any pupil arriving late should enter the school through the main reception and the person bringing in the child must sign them in accordance with school’s procedures.

• If a primary school child arrives late and is unaccompanied by a parent/carer, school will make contact to establish the reason for lateness.

• If lateness becomes a regular occurrence, it will be treated in the same way as unauthorised absence, with parents/carers being contacted and invited into school to discuss the situation.