Attendance

Rivington Foundation Primary School is a successful school and every child plays their part in making it so. We aim for an environment which enables and encourages all pupils to achieve their potential and aspire to excellence.

For our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly and every child should be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless they have an unavoidable reason to be absent. Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning.

Absence or late arrival also disrupts daily routines and teaching and so may affect the learning of others in the same class.

Government research shows a direct link between attendance and attainment and good attenders also make better progress socially, learn to work with others, and are better prepared for the transition to secondary school and, eventually, higher education, training and employment.

It is very important therefore that you make sure your child attends regularly and our attendance policy sets out how together we will achieve this. The policy will be applied fairly and consistently and we will always consider the individual needs of pupils, and their families, who have specific barriers to attendance. We will also be mindful of our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and give consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Our attendance target this year is 96%, but all pupils should strive to achieve 100% attendance if they can.

What can parents do to help?

• Make sure that your child goes to school regularly and arrives on time. It’s a good idea to start these positive habits at an early age,

• If your child is ill, contact the school on the first day of your child’s illness

• If your child is ever off school, you must tell the school why.

• If you want permission for your child to miss school, you should ask for permission well in advance and give full details

Parents and carers have a legal duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly, if they are of compulsory school age and registered at a school (see the appendix for details of how the law applies to school attendance and how “parent” is defined in law).

Parents and pupils should know the times the school day starts and finishes and when the register closes (see section 4, below), the processes for requesting leave (see section 3.5), and the process for informing school of the reason for unexpected absence (as follows).

If your child is going to be absent, parents must inform school as soon as possible and at the latest by 9.15am on the first day of absence via the school app [Class Dojo] or by calling school on [01204 696951].

Parents must also ensure that school has up-to-date contact information for themselves and emergency contacts.

Pupils’ responsibilities depend upon their age, maturity and capability but they too must do their best to attend school regularly and punctually.

CHANGES TO THE LAW REGARDING PENALTY NOTICES FOR UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL

A new National Framework for Penalty Notices for school absence, including unauthorised holiday absence, is being introduced following changes to the law. These new Government regulations will come into effect from 19th August 2024, and we wanted to bring this to your attention, as it will affect when penalty notices are issued in Lancashire.

What are the changes?

• There will be a new national threshold of 10 unauthorised sessions for any reason (equivalent to 5 school days) within a rolling 10 school week period for when a penalty notice must be considered.

• The new rules mean you will no longer be able to take your child out of school for one week’s holiday without a penalty notice being issued.

• There will be an increase in the penalty fine from £60 to £80 if paid in 21 days. If the fine is not paid by the first 21 days, it will rise to £160 if paid within 28 days of being issued.

• If a second penalty fine is issued to the same parent for the same child within a 3-year rolling period, the fine will automatically rise to £160 with no option to pay the lower rate of £80.

• If a parent then commits a third offence in a 3-year rolling period, the local authority will need to consider other enforcement options available to them.

Headteachers may not authorise leave during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Headteachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional.

All requests for leave of absence in term time must be made 20 days in advance in writing on the leave of absence request form – available from the school office and here: Holiday Request Form.

Please note: The approval of leave of absence does not set a precedent for similar future requests and the frequency / duration of such leave periods will be considered as factors in any decision.

School attendance contacts

Contacts for parents to notify school of a pupil’s absence: 01204 696951.  Sarah Annette (Headteacher) head@rivington.lancs.sch.uk or Lynn Unsworth (School Office) bursar@rivington.lancs.sch.uk.

Contacts for day to day enquiries about attendance: 01204 696951.  Sarah Annette (Headteacher) head@rivington.lancs.sch.uk or Lynn Unsworth (School Office) bursar@rivington.lancs.sch.uk.

Support for specific and more serious attendance concerns: 01204 696951.  Sarah Annette (Headteacher) head@rivington.lancs.sch.uk or Heather Whittaker (Deputy Headteacher and SENCO/Pastoral) hwhittaker@rivington.lancs.sch.uk

Senior Attendance Champion, the senior leader responsible for the strategic approach to attendance in school: 01204 696951.  Sarah Annette (Headteacher) head@rivington.lancs.sch.uk or Heather Whittaker (Deputy Headteacher and SENCO/Pastoral) hwhittaker@rivington.lancs.sch.uk

The staff named above can be contacted on: 01204 696951.

Attendance Policy 2025-2026:

Attendance Strategy 2025-2026:

Attendance Strategy Poster:

RFPS Attendance Checklist 2025-2026

Attendance Matters:

Working Together to Improve School Attendance:

Parental Guidance on School Attendance

Attendance & Punctuality

Our school’s attendance target is 96% for all children.

At Rivington Foundation Primary School, we are committed to excellent attendance at school. We strive to ensure that every child achieves the local authority target of 96% attendance.

Please see below for the policies and procedures that we have in place to ensure that every child fully accesses their education, giving them the greatest chance to achieve their full potential.

Absence

Absences must be reported to the school office before 9.00.a.m. on the first day that your child is absent from school. We have the facilities for you to leave a message before 8am but we may make a follow-up call if the reason for your child’s absence is unclear.

First Response

If school does not receive notification of a child’s absence, then a first response action is taken. This is firstly a phone call but will then be followed by a house visit if the phone call is unsuccessful. This is a safeguarding response to ensure that every child at our school is accounted for every day.

Punctuality

Pupils can come into school from 8.35am and the school day starts promptly at 8.45 a.m. If a child arrives at school after 8.50 a.m. without prior arrangements having been agreed, he/she will be deemed late.  Registers close at 9:15 a.m. and arrival at school after this time, without prior approval or extenuating circumstances, will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.

Pupils arriving at school after 8.50 a.m. must enter through the main gates and report to the school office to be signed in by an adult. Pupils leaving school for any reason must report to the office before they go so that we can ensure that they are appropriately chaperoned and signed out.  Registers are also taken when the children return to classes after lunch. Unexplained absences will be investigated by the attendance officer

As part of Lancashire Local Authority, we work closely with the School Attendance Support Service to ensure that all children are attending school regularly. Information about this service is available by clicking the link.

Leave of Absence Procedures

As detailed in our Attendance Policy, and in line with DfE guidance, we do not authorise leave of absence during term other than when exceptional circumstances permit. If you wish to take your child out of school, during term time, it is important to discuss this with us as much in advance as possible so we can guide you through the process.  Find a link to the school request for absence form here.

However, where absence is unauthorised, it could lead to further action being taken including a penalty notice being issued. Department for Education information regarding this is available by CLICKING HERE.

Data Collection Form

Under Regulation 8 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, schools must obtain certain details from parents when their child is admitted to school.
The linked form contains all of the legally required fields and asks for additional information which will be useful for school.