Our school’s Attendance Target is 100%

The National average for attendance is 96.1%. Your child’s attendance will fall below this if they miss more than seven days in the academic year of 2023/2024.

 

Absences

Any absences must be reported as soon as possible, preferably before 9am. You can do this by contacting the school on 01865 777937 and leaving a message on the answer phone or you can send an email to attendance@rose-hill.oxon.sch.uk. If your child is absent and we have not heard from you we will contact you by phone or make a home visit.

 

Medical Appointments

Medical appointments should be made outside of school hours wherever possible. If it is not possible to get an appointment outside of school hours, please ensure your child is in school before and after the appointment.

 

Planned Absences in School Time

Any holidays planned in term-time will be unauthorised. The school will only authorise planned absences during term-time in exceptional circumstances.

 

Persistent Absentees

According to Department for Education guidelines, any student with attendance below 90% is classed as a persistent absentee.

 

Attendance Team

The school’s attendance team will monitor individual, class and whole school attendance on a regular basis.

Click here to view our School Attendance Policy (located on our Policies & Procedures page).

Holiday Requests

Occasionally some parents ask for permission to take their child out of school during term-time. Government guidelines make it clear that head teachers should not authorise time off school for holidays during term-time – we know that good attendance at school is vital for children to progress well with their learning.  Therefore, we are unable to give permission for children to take holidays during term-time.

 

We monitor each child’s attendance closely.  If these absences are due to unauthorised or declined holiday each parent can be issued with a Penalty Notice for £60. (‘Guidance on the Education (Pupil registration) (England) Regulations 2006). 

Oxfordshire County Council School Attendance

 

A Guide To Attendance

Do I need to keep my child off school – Quick Guide

 

What action should you take if your child is absent?

  • Please phone 01865 777937  on the first day of absence leaving your child’s name, class, reason for absence and expected date of return.
  • If your child is still unable to return to school on the expected date of return please contact the school again

What action will the school take if your child is absent?

  • Text or phone you to find out the reason why your child is absent
  • Send out a letter if no reply to the text or phone has been received
  • If attendance falls below 90% send a further letter to let you know what action is to be taken
  • If there is no improvement our Pastoral Team will contact you and a parental attendance contract may be started.
  • If there is no un improvement, the school will refer your family to the Attendance Team at Oxford County Council.

Why is good attendance important?

Attending school on a regular basis is the key to children doing well at school, and sets them up with good habits for later life and the working world. It also gives children the opportunity to:

  • Make lots of friends and feel included
  • Learn new things and develop their skills
  • Increase their confidence and self-esteem
  • Improve their social skills
  • Be part of a school team or club
  • Improve their career prospects
  • Achieve their potential and fulfil their aspirations

A few small changes can make a difference

Parents are advised to:

  • Show their child that they think school is very important
  • Praise their child’s achievements
  • Not keep their child off school if they are worried or have a problem
  • Talk about it with their Class Teacher, Family Liaison Officer, Headteachers  or the Educational Welfare Officer
  • Recognise that if children get into bad patterns from an early age, these are hard to break later in life

How good is your child’s attendance?

All pupils are expected to reach attendance levels of 97% and above to be able to access and achieve their full potential at school.

What can I do as a parent to increase my child’s attendance?

  • Only grant days at home for genuine illness (you will know!)
  • Avoid taking holidays in school time

Basically, Parents and Carers have to make sure that children aged 5 to 16 years receive full-time education and that these children attend school regularly. If a child is missing school without good reason, schools and local authorities have a number of legal powers that they can use

A child registered at a school can legally miss school only in very limited circumstances…

  • When the child is too ill to attend
  • When the school has authorised the absence beforehand

Authorised Absences include:

  • Genuine illness resulting in unavoidable absence
  • Religious observances
  • Family bereavement

Unauthorised absences include:

  • Holidays
  • Shopping
  • Having a birthday
  • Oversleeping – Registration is between 8.40-8.45am and 12:45-12:50 in Reception, 1:00-1:05 in KS1/Nursery and  1.15-1.20 KS2. Any child arriving after this time is recorded as late.  30 mins or more late will be marked as an unauthorised absence.