Attendance and Punctuality

Reporting an absence 

If your child is going to be absent from school please email attendance@risleyavenue-pri.haringey.sch.uk and include your child's name, class, reason for delayed return, the date you hope for them to return and any relevant evidence.
NHS - Is my child too ill for school?

Attendance

There is a very clear and demonstrable link between good attendance at school and good educational outcomes.

When a child is absent or late to school, this causes disruption to the rest of the class and causes your child to fall behind. 

Risley has a target of 97% attendance for each pupil. Anyone who falls below this target will receive a warning letter and possible meeting with the school.

If your child’s level of attendance falls below 90% you will automatically be referred to the EWS (Education Welfare Service) which may result in legal action being taken by Haringey Council.

It is a parent’s responsibility to ensure that their children receive a full time education.               This is stated in Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act:

“The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him/her to receive efficient full-time education suitable to his/her age, ability and aptitude, and to any special educational needs he/she may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise”.

If your child is too unwell to come to school, please take them to the doctors or dentist and bring an appointment card, appointment letter or prescription into school if possible. We do not consider a cold or cough to be an illness that prevents your child attending school.

Should your child be absent for unauthorised reasons, you may be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice by Haringey Council. This is a penalty of £120, payable for each of your children that have been absent from school for unauthorised reasons. The penalty is payable by each parent.

This means that both you and your partner will have to pay the penalty. If the penalty notice is paid within 21 days, there is a 50% discount, so the amount payable is £60 per penalty notice. Late or part payments are not accepted.  

It is very important that children attend school regularly to achieve continuity in their learning process. However, we realise there are occasions when your child may need to be absent.

You must call the school office every morning that your child does not attend, so that their attendance record is accurate and kept up-to-date. Please note a phone call will not authorise the absence.

 If your child has, an infectious or contagious illnesses you must inform the school immediately and your child should not return to school until the doctor has given consent for him/her to do so.

 Attendance registers are a legal document and are checked regularly by Haringey Education Welfare Services.

 If your child has more than six unauthorised absences within a six-week period, you will receive a fine.

Exceptional circumstances

Holidays during term time are not authorised. If a child is taken on holiday or trip during term time parents/carers may be referred to the Local Authority’s attendance service. The Local Authority can issue Fixed Penalty fines for unauthorised absences/holidays. Failure to pay the fine can result in legal action by the Council.

 Schools can only authorise a pupil’s absence in exceptional circumstances, and being absent from school due to a family holiday will not be considered as an exceptional circumstance. We understand that family circumstances differ however, and we will consider every request for leave when the school is open on an individual basis. Please put your request in using this link https://www.cognitoforms.com/RisleyAvenuePrimarySchool/requestforabsenceduringschooltime the Head Teacher will then review your request for consideration.

All head teachers must follow Department for Education guidance in relation to taking leave when schools are open, but it is the head teacher’s decision whether to accept any parental explanation for absence, and to mark an absence as authorised or unauthorised in registers.

Punctuality

If your child arrives after their above starting times, then  you must take your child to the School Office to sign them in as late, it is important that you do this so that we can mark them as present in the building.

These late procedures are in place so that every child is entered on to the register and can be accounted for in the event of an emergency. This is to ensure the Safeguarding and Health and Safety of your child, so please make sure that these procedures are followed at all times.

Parents of children, who are persistently late, average once a week, will be asked to attend a meeting with the Education Welfare Officer.

School register closes at 9.30am children who arrive after this time are classified as an 'unauthorised' unless evidence is provided for the school to authorise the lateness. 

Every day in school counts towards your child’s future, and I thank you in advance for supporting Risley Avenue Primary school in ensuring excellent school attendance.

What is good attendance?