Ridgeway CE Primary School seeks to ensure that all its pupils receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each pupil to realise their true potential and enable them to ‘Build for Life’. We recognise that good attendance and punctuality is essential to supporting positive outcomes for children.

Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence and poor punctuality will seriously affect their learning. As can be seen below absence and poor punctuality soon adds up:

To support our pupils in achieving good attendance and punctuality, and thus supporting good outcomes for our children, the school strives to provide a welcoming and caring environment. We will promote the importance of good attendance to all our pupils and families and work with them to ensure each pupil attends school regularly and punctually.

We ask that our parents and carers support us in this by:

• Ensuring their child regularly attend school as it is their legal responsibility
• Making sure their child attends every day on time, for the whole school day
• Calling or emailing the school office to report their child's absence before 9am on the first day of absence and each subsequent day of absence.
• Providing the school with more than 1 emergency contact number for their child
• Ensuring that, where possible, appointments for their child are made outside of the school day.
• Not asking for a leave of absence during the school term. Family holidays need to be taken during school holiday periods.
• Work closely with the school to resolve any attendance issues

We understand that there are times when your child will be unwell and you may be unsure if your child is well enough to attend school. The NHS has produced a guide, Is my child too ill for school?, to support parents in understanding if their child is too ill to attend school which you may find helpful.