Good attendance and punctuality remain a top priority for us at Madresfield CE Primary, we strive to ensure your child has the best opportunities to be the best they can be, to feel safe and supported in school, and to develop a sense of belonging both with their peers and as a part of our widerschool community.

Our Senior Attendance Champion is Mrs Rebecca Hibell and our governor responsible for attendance is Dr David Radley. 

Our ambition for every child is 100% attendance however we recognise that on occasion some children may experience illness or have exceptional reasons preventing regular attendance. 

90% attendance may seem like an acceptable level of attendance, however the reality is that 90% attendance means that your child misses half a day of school every week, the equivalent of 19 school days (almost one whole month), during the year. Children who miss this amount of school do not achieve as well as their peers who attend more regularly.

We know being a parent/carer can be challenging at times. We are here to help if there are any problems affecting your child. Do please speak with your child’s teacher or our Family Support Worker, Mrs Thomas, in the first instance.

Leave of absence

By law you must ask for permission for your children to miss school. Holidays during term time will not be authorised (unless considered exceptional circumstances by the Headteacher) and where 10 sessions of unauthorised absence occur within a 10 week period the absence will be referred to Worcestershire County Council and may be subject to a penalty notice fine.

Attendance information for parents and carers | Worcestershire County Council

To help your child do well in school, you should:

• Arrange family holidays to coincide with school holidays.
• Never take your child out of school when there are important examinations or tests.
• Be aware of the potential impact on your child’s education.
• Avoid taking your child out of school when they are just starting. This is very important, as your child needs to settle into their new environment as quickly as possible.

Reducing Illness Days

If your child is saying they do not feel well but you are unsure about whether it warrants a day off please send them to school. If they are truly ill we will ring you. 

Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Medical Appointments

If your child has to have a medical or dental appointment in school time please do your best to have it after 2pm and then your child can have their registration mark for the afternoon before you pick them up. If it needs to be a morning appointment, please try and bring them to school first to get their mark and then return to school afterwards. Every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required. Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason like illness (where a child it too ill to attend school), medical/dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable cause.

Inclusion Strategy