One of the most well-documented phenomena in education is the fact that children who attend school regularly do the best at school.
King’s Academy Rowner has high expectations for excellent attendance and we expect all children to attend school every day, on time. High levels of attendance not only serve to safeguard pupils academic progress, but also supports their positive emotional well-being through PSHE, pastoral care and opportunities to develop sustained friendships. It is the responsibility of parents and carers to ensure that this happens. To help our families with attendance and punctuality we have a number of strategies to help which include:
- A ‘drift in’ at the start of the day to make the start of the day comfortable for all
- Staff stationed at the entry doors to welcome the children and teachers welcome children as they arrive
- Regular updates, regarding attendance, in our monthly newsletters
- Breakfast Club to ease the start of the day for working parents
- Reminder letters for families
- Rowner Attendance Team support
- Attendance Team colleagues are available to meet with the children and their families where required
What do I need to do if my child cannot attend school? We ask parents/carers to inform school of the reason for a child’s absence as soon as possible, and no later than 9:15am on the first day of absence and to do so electronically with this form. Where a child is ill the school should be notified of the nature of the illness and an idea of when the child is expected to be able to resume school. Our Assistant Headteacher, Miss Sewell monitors the attendance of every child at Rowner on a daily basis. She will communicate with you if the school has a concern about your child’s attendance and will seek to work with you to address this.
Attendance Rules Parents/carers should be aware that, within the context of the law, parents are not allowed to take children out of school during term times except in the case of illness or for exceptional situations. SCHOOL ARE UNABLE TO AUTHORISE HOLIDAY ABSENCE REQUESTS. PLEASE come and talk to a member of staff about attendance matters so that we can work together. For exceptional circumstances, absences can be authorised. The document below will provide you with further information.
Penalty Warning Notice Parents or carers with parental responsibility may both receive a Penalty Warning Notice (PWN) for a child’s unauthorised absence, even if the child lives with only one parent due to separation. The school will carefully review each case before taking any action.
