Attendance Information at St John’s CE Primary School 

During the course of the year we do celebrate our children's attendance. We also recognise and celebrate punctuality.  We thank all parents and carers, who send their child to school regularly and on time every day. 

Parent responsibilities:

• To have children in class ready for teaching by the start of the school day at 8.40 a.m. (or 8.30 a.m./12.30 p.m. if in either Morning or Afternoon Nursery) 
• To inform school on the first day of any absence by telephone
• Comply with the attendance information regarding holidays
• Work with the school and Attendance Support Worker (ASW) to improve lateness and attendance if appropriate

Absences and lateness will be logged by the administrative staff and discussed weekly with the Headteacher.  If the Headteacher is concerned about a child’s attendance, certain steps will be taken to ensure the attendance is improved and that appropriate agencies are contacted.

Please also note the following:

• Holidays during term time can only be authorised by the Headteacher in exceptional circumstances.  Please note especially that if children do NOT return to school on the day specified these absences will be marked as unauthorised and your child’s name passed to the Attendance Support Worker (ASW).

• Lateness is also monitored carefully and I must remind you that it is vital that pupils are in class for the start of lessons. 

• Parents/Carers must notify the school on the first day of the illness – preferably by phone by 9.30 a.m.

If a pupil takes 10 days’ holiday during any academic year, that pupil can only achieve 94.7% attendance. Any further absence will mean that they will be further disadvantaged with attendance falling even lower.

All of the above measures are designed to ensure our children at St John’s miss as little school as possible.  Every child matters and every child’s education is vital to their lifelong learning.  Good attendance plays a crucial part in enabling every child to succeed and thus achieve their  potential and flourish. 

Attendance Policy can be found on our Policy Page:

Policies | St John's CE Primary School (stjohns.reading.sch.uk)