Attendance
Attendance and absence
At Little Sutton we consistently promote the importance of good attendance. Regular attendance at school means that your child can make the most of their education and improve their chances in adult life. School can also help your child’s social skills such as making and developing friendships. The link between attendance and attainment in school is clear: the more a child is in school the more they increase their opportunity to fulfil their potential. That is why we work in partnership with parents and the Local Authority to continually look at ways to improve school attendance. We know children can be too poorly to come to school but would always encourage children to attend where possible.
To read the latest newsletter about attendance, with up-to-date guidelines, click on the file below:
Late arriving or absent pupils
Please ensure that your child arrives at school on time. We understand that children may be late because of medical or other appointments on occasions. If your child does arrive late to school, they must be brought to the main office to be registered.
If your child is going to be absent, please contact us by 8:50am. You can telephone 0121 464 4494 and select Option 1 (available 24 / 7), inform us on Arbor or visit the office after 8:00am to let us know why your child is absent.
If your child has an upcoming medical or other appointment, please bring the appointment letter to the school office before the day that your child will be absent from or late for school.
Children that are being collected from school during the school day are signed out by a member of staff and by yourselves.
How does your child compare?
Attendance during one school year | equals this number of days absent | which is approximately this many weeks absent | which means this number of lessons missed |
95% | 9 days | 2 weeks | 50 lessons |
90% | 19 days | 4 weeks | 100 lessons |
85% | 29 days | 6 weeks | 150 lessons |
80% | 38 days | 8 weeks | 200 lessons |
Parents and Carers are strongly discouraged from taking holidays during term time. They can be incredibly disruptive to a child’s education. If a request for a term time absence is to be made please complete a Request for Absence form (available from the school office) at the earliest possible opportunity with details explaining the request. Requests are considered by the Headteacher but we are unable to authorise absences for family holidays during term time. A leave of absence to a pupil during term time will only be granted if there are ‘exceptional circumstances’. This is granted at the Head Teacher’s discretion, including the length of time the pupil is authorised to be absent for, and will be considered in line with the guidance from Birmingham City Council and the DfE.
Need help with your child’s attendance?
Please email or call the school office and ask for a member of staff to contact you as we always want to help and support you to improve your child’s attendance.
For more information about school attendance or if you need further help or support, please use these links:
