Attendance

Why is Attendance Important?

Primary school is the foundation for a child’s future. It’s where children learn essential skills like reading, writing, and maths, and where they develop confidence, curiosity, and friendships that shape who they become. But learning doesn’t happen all at once - it builds day by day. That is why regular attendance is so important. Every school day brings new lessons and experiences and missing even a few days, can make it harder for children to stay on track. Consistent attendance helps students stay engaged, succeed academically, and build the habits they’ll need for lifelong learning.

Working Together to Support Attendance

Here at Olive Hill, we work tirelessly with children and their parents to remove any barriers to attendance by building strong and trusting relationships and working together to put the right support in place. Securing high levels of attendance is not something that can be achieved in isolation by one person acting alone, it must be a concerted effort across all parties: the child; parents; all school staff; the governing body; the trust; the local authority; and other partners. Across each term we offer a range of incentives to reward good attendance including certificates, raffle prizes and mufti days.

Absence and Penalty Notices

While we strive to work with our families to support regular attendance, we also have a responsibility to ensure that all children are receiving the education they are entitled to. In line with national guidelines, we will issue penalty notices to parents or carers who allow their child to have 10 or more sessions (equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a 10-school week period. These notices can result in a fine and should be taken seriously.

Lateness and Punctuality

At Olive Hill, we monitor the lateness of children in our care as being punctual is crucial to ensure a positive start to the day. Lateness into school causes disruption to that child’s learning and can lead to an unsettled start to the school day. It is paramount therefore that all children arrive at school on time. Children in all year groups will be welcomed into school when it opens at 8:45am. We expect all children to arrive at school between 8:45am and 8:55am. The school gates close at 8:55am and this indicates that the school day has started.

Parent/Carer Responsibility for Reporting Absences

Parents/carers must notify the school of the reason for the absence on the first day of an unplanned absence by 8:55am or as soon as practically possible by contacting the school. This can be done as follows:

Phone the main school office on 01384 958439 and press option 1 to report your child’s absence. This is a recorded service, and it is important that you clearly state your child’s name and class with an explanation for their absence.

Phone the main school office on 01384 958439 and press option 2 to speak to a member of the office team. To speak to the attendance officer press option 3.

Speak directly to our attendance officer when bringing siblings to school in the morning.