Attendance

Attendance = Achievement

At Cherrywood Community Primary School excellent attendance and punctuality is our aim for every student. Mrs Gabbott is our Attendance Lead and she works hard to improve the attendance of children here at Cherrywood.

Full attendance maximises learning opportunities and parents/carers have a vital role in promoting positive attitudes to good attendance. Evidence shows that students who attend school regularly make better progress both academically and socially. We ask for support from parents / carers to ensure that their child:

· is present at every opportunity and avoids staying at home unnecessarily

· arrives at school on time.

The school attendance target of 96%, is the minimum we expect for all students. Every lesson counts and it is this commitment to learning that will have a positive impact on attainment and progress. The table below shows the impact that missing just a few days of school can have over the course of an academic year.

Percentage	Description	Days Absent per Year	Number of Lessons Lost	Weeks Lost
100%	Excellent	0	0	0
98-99%	Very Good	2– 4 days	Up to 20	Almost 1 week
97%	Good	5.5 days	Up to 27.5	Just over 1 week
96%	Satisfactory	7.5 days	Up to 37.5	1.5 weeks
93-95%	Cause for Concern	9.5 -13 days	Up to 65	Almost 2.5 weeks
91-92%	Unsatisfactory	14—17 days	Up to 85	Almost 3.5 weeks
90% and below	Persistent Absence	19 days or more	more than 95	4 weeks and over

However, the greatest reward of all is knowing that as a parent you are giving your child the best possible chance of academic success at school.

Promoting Good Attendance

This year we planned to launch a new reward system for attendance. However the impact of covid has meant that the attendance of children is being effected by the need to isolate when they would normally come to school. For this reason we have delayed the launch but look forward to starting this as soon as possible.

Should my child stay home from school?

Parents often ask us if their child should be in school. If your child has no temperature but has a cough, cold, headache or earache then medical advice is to give them paracetamol (Calpol etc) and send them to school. We will always contact you if your child’s condition worsens or if we believe it is contagious.

Preventing or minimizing illnesses -- it can be done!

One way to lessen the number of days your child needs to stay home is to prevent the illness in the first place. Childhood immunizations can prevent many diseases, such as measles, mumps, and chicken pox. Although this may seem simple, many illnesses can also be prevented through proper hygiene.

Some hygiene reminders for your children -

Not to share food
Not to share drinks
Not to share clothing
To throw away used tissues
To wash their hands frequently using soap

Catch it, Bin it, Kill it

Medical/Dental/Optician appointments

Whenever possible make all medical appointments at the end of the school day or outside school hours. If an appointment is made in school time your child should come to school first and/or return after their appointment. Please be aware that the absence or illness of a pupil should NOT affect the education of their siblings. If a pupil has an appointment (particularly at the beginning or end of the school day) arrangements should be made to ensure that the other sibling is either dropped off or collected from school on time.

Lack of Sleep

If your child has been ill in the night and has had broken sleep please consider sending them into school in the afternoon. Your child may feel better and they will have the chance to catch up on the learning from the morning and join with their friends.

Guidance for different illnesses

Is your child too poorly for school or nursery? New advice will help you decide

It is always a worry when a child becomes unwell, but it is not always obvious how to care for them and whether you should keep them at home. You can now find handy NHS guidance in one place online that will help you identify a possible condition, so you can decide whether to send your child to school or nursery.

On this website is a list of common childhood illnesses and conditions from conjunctivitis to head lice, as well as symptoms such as a high temperature and a sore throat and what these might mean. There is advice about what to do and when a child should return to education after being treated.

Visit the Should your child go to school/nursery today? Website at

https://what0-18.nhs.uk/parentscarers/child-unwell-ok-go-nurseryschool-1 or go online and search for 0-18 should child go to school.

Please bookmark this website so it is easy to find if ever your child becomes unwell.

If you are unsure about a child s wellbeing, please talk to your local pharmacist, call the NHS helpline on 111, or contact your GP.

The guidance has been created by the County Council, with the NHS and local authority partners through the Healthier Together initiative, which aims to improve the health of children and young people in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Long Term or Chronic Medical Conditions

Please talk to us if your child has a chronic or long term illness as there are a number of ways your child can maintain some education - such as hospital schools or teaching services, home teaching and pupil referral units. We will always aim to support your child in being able to continue some form of education; and we will work closely with you and your child to ensure that we maintain the right balance so your child can keep up whilst checking the type and amount of school work that your child does is appropriate for them and their medical condition.

Please remember that the regulations for schools give the Headteacher the right to consider whether to accept the parent / carers position with regard to medical absence.

Childs Health