Miss Eileen Maceachern is our SENCo and Attendance Champion at Valley Primary Academy.
At Valley Primary Academy, we know that good attendance is essential for academic attainment, social and emotional wellbeing and good outcomes for children. It also prepares our children for their future working lives.
We expect all children to have at least 96% attendance unless there are exceptional circumstances. We reward good attendance through individual and class certificates and prizes.
We believe that teaching staff, support staff, governors and parents are responsible for and can influence the attendance of pupils; attendance is everyone’s responsibility. We monitor attendance carefully.
Where we have concerns about a child’s attendance we will work with families to provide support and encouragement to ensure their attendance and/or punctuality improves.
Please read our ‘Attendance Policy and Procedures’ below and speak with us if you have any concerns about your child’s attendance to see how the school can support you and your child. You can also visit the Just One Norfolk website for further information.
Family holidays in school term time will not be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances. Forms to request a pupil absence are available from the school office.
| Minutes late per day during the school year | Equals days worth of teaching in the school year |
| 5 minutes per day | 3.4 days missed a year = 98.4 attendance |
| 10 minutes per day | 6.9 days missed a year = 97.6 attendance |
| 15 minutes per day | 10.3 days missed a year = 94.6 attendance |
| 20 minutes per day | 13.8 days missed a year = 92.9 attendance |
| 25 minutes per day | 20.7 days missed a year = 89.2 attendance |
Absence and Illness
If you know your child will be absent from school due to a medical/dental appointment, please inform the school office in advance and give them a copy of the appointment details.
In order to ensure your child does not miss out on school, appointments should be made outside of school hours unless it is an emergency.
If your child is going to be off sick, please call the school office on 01603 628 030, before 9am on the first day of absence. Please ensure you provide a reason for their absence and when you expect your child to return to school.
When reporting an absence, please give specific details about their symptoms. This will ensure that information about your child’s attendance will be recorded accurately.
Find out more – https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/.