Our designated attendance lead is Mrs Tina Nightingale.

Our Attendance Policy can be found  here.

In 2013, the Government issued advice to schools instructing that NO extended absences can be authorised by school unless the circumstances are exceptional and extreme.

The Head can authorise holiday leave in exceptional circumstances only.

This must be agreed to before the holiday begins: This is NOT an entitlement and holidays taken in term time will adversely affect your child’s attendance record.

All pupils, who in exceptional circumstances, are granted holiday leave will be expected to make up work lost.

The Head will not authorise absence in the following circumstances:

• Shopping
• Birthdays
• Looking after other family members
• Waiting in for trades people
• Any holidays
• Unapproved sporting events
• Continued lateness to school
• Excessive absences without medical evidence

School has a duty to safeguard our children and the monitoring of attendance is a significant part of this.  If any parents or carers have a safeguarding concern, this should be reported to the school’s designated safeguarding lead, Mrs Elizabeth Evans, the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mrs Charley Caine or Assistant Designated Safeguarding Lead and Pastoral Manager, Mrs Tina Nightingale.

Parents and carers may also need to make a referral to Rochdale Children’s Services in the event that they feel a child is at risk of significant harm.  Children’s Services can be contacted on 0300 303 0440 or via e-mail at socialservices@rochdale.gov.uk

Rochdale Council Penalty Information:

If you take your child, or children, out of school without authorisation for 5 or more days, in a 10 week school period, we will issue you with a school attendance penalty notice.

The amount you’ll be fined depends on how many times you take your child, or children, out of school without authorisation.

• The first time: you will need to pay £80 per parent, per child. If you don’t pay within 28 days the amount will be increased to £160 per parent, per child.
• The second time within 3 years: you will need to pay £160 per parent, per child within 28 days. There is no reduction in payment.
• The third time within 3 years: the case will be presented directly to the magistrates’ court and a fine of up to £2,500 can be issued.

If you don’t pay your penalty notice on time, we may refer the case to the magistrates’ court.

Pay Rochdale Borough Council – School attendance penalty notice

Parents are required to contact the school as soon as possible on the first day of their child’s absence.

Parents are required to send a note in on the first day that their child returns to school with a signed explanation of why they were absent; this is required even if the parent has already contacted the school via phone call.

Alternatively, parents may call into school and report to the school office where arrangements will be made to speak to a member of staff.

A phone call will be made to the parent of any child who has not reported their child’s absence on the first day that they do not attend school.

In the case of persistent absence, arrangements will be made for parents to speak to the Headteacher.

The school will inform the LA, on a termly basis, of the details of pupils who fail to attend regularly, or who have missed 10 school days or more without permission.

If a pupil’s attendance drops below 85 percent, the Education Welfare Officer will be informed, and a formal meeting will be arranged with the parents.

Where a pupil has not returned to school for 10 days after an authorised absence, or is absent from school without authorisation for 20 consecutive school days, the school will remove the pupil from the admissions register if the school and the LA have failed to establish the whereabouts of the child after making reasonable enquiries.

Our working partnership with parents is very important to us, particularly so in respect of achieving good attendance and punctuality for the children.  If parents have any concerns about their child’s attendance, we are here to help and will work with you to overcome any issues that may prevent children from attending school regularly and achieving their full potential.

Each term, children are awarded attendance prizes for their determined efforts to be in school every day.  Many children achieve 99% or above and this is a truly commendable achievement.  Attendance continues to be a priority for us in school and it is vital that all children are in school every day, unless they are too poorly to attend.

Each week, classes go head to head in competition to win the Attendance Ted trophy and On-time Ted trophy. In order for a class to win the coveted Cinema Trip at the end of the term, a minimum attendance of 98% for the term must be achieved.

Keep up to date with the weekly progress via the newsletter.

Our whole school attendance at the end of 2023/24 was 94.6%

We value and recognise the importance of good attendance and have systems and processes in place to make sure attendance in managed effectively for all children. We regularly analyse attendance data to identify pupils who have consistently high attendance, those who have shown improvements in their attendance and to identify pupils who may be vulnerable. We will provide support for those who may have lower rates of attendance and again I ask that you work with school if you have any issues with your child being able to attend school regularly. We are always here to support.

School attendance is a vital foundation for children’s success. It is more than just being present—it is about creating opportunities for academic achievement, personal growth, and a brighter future. Each day in school matters and can have a lasting impact. Visit The Importance of Attendance page to learn more about attendance across our Trust.