UNCRC Commitment: St Peter’s CE Primary is fully committed to recognising, respecting, promoting and implementing the Rights of the Child as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. As a Rights Respecting School, we strive to place the Rights of the Child at the very heart of our policies and practices.

Article 28 ‘You have the right to a good quality education. You should be encouraged to go to school to the highest level you can.’

Who can I talk to about attendance?

The Senior Attendance Champion for St Peter's is Hattie Friedman.  If you you have anything you would like to discuss about attendance please contact Hattie via the school office or stop by for a chat on the gate.

Please also read the policy below as it sets out important information about authorised and unauthorised absences, including approval for term time absences.

Absence Procedures

If your child is absent you must:

• Notify the school as soon as possible when your child has to be unexpectedly absent (e.g. sickness) and not later than 9:30am on the day of absence.
• Provide medical evidence, such as a doctor’s note, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate form of evidence, if required.

If your child is absent we will:

• Call you on the first day of absence to ascertain the reason.
• Identify whether the absence is approved or not.
• Identify the correct attendance code to use.
• Ensure proper safeguarding action is taken where necessary.
• In cases where it is not possible to contact the parent/carer, the school will call other contacts listed for the child. The school may email/text the parent/carer as well if there is no response.
• If, after three days, we have had no contact from parents or other contacts listed for the child then we will contact the police.
• We will mark absence due to illness as authorised unless the school has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness. The school may ask the pupil’s parent/carer to provide medical evidence, such as a doctor’s note, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate form of evidence. We will not ask for medical evidence unnecessarily.

Lateness Procedures

A pupil who arrives late:

• Before the register has closed (up to and including 9:30am) will be marked as late, using the appropriate code.
• After the register has closed (9:31am onwards) will be marked as an unauthorized absence, using the appropriate code.

Step 1: If your child is late three times or more within a 6-week period, you will receive a letter informing you of this.

Step 2: If your child continues to be late after receiving this letter, you will be invited for a meeting with the attendance officer to discuss strategies to support punctuality including attending breakfast club.

Step 3: If your child is recorded as late after the register has closed 8 times within a 6-week period, the school will work with the local authority to determine if a warning letter or a Penalty Charge Notice should be issued.