Following the disruption of the last two years, it is more important than ever that we support children to attend school as well as is possible. Our aim is that all children should attend for at least 95% of the school year. This equates to attending at least 4.5 days every week on average. Evidence suggests that children who attend for 95% or more of the school year have the best future attainment outcomes and it is important that good attendance routines are established from the very beginning of a child’s time at school.
Attendance of below 85% falls into the cause for concern bracket. There is evidence that absences pushing attendance below 85% have a significant impact on overall attendance.
Good attendance also supports children’s social and emotional development. It helps them to develop and sustain friendships.
It is important for us (school and parents) to monitor and support attendance throughout the school year and if you feel concerned at all about your child’s attendance, please contact me to discuss how we can support. Equally, if we are concerned about your child’s attendance, we will contact you to offer support.
I would ask all parents to note the following ways that attendance can be kept high:
- avoid making appointments for during the school day whenever possible. If your child has a necessary dental or medical appointment that has to be held during the school day, let us know and only take them out of school for the duration of the appointment.
- only plan holidays/events for school holiday time.
- only keep your child off school if they are too ill to attend (see below) and return them as soon as they are well enough to be back in school.
- Only keep your child off school to isolate if advised to do so by NHS (see below) and return them as soon as you are able.
There are occasions when children should stay off school:
- if they are ill with any illness and present as tired, poorly or otherwise not fit for school.
- suspected or confirmed infectious illness (e.g. chicken pox) – you should consult us about when it is safe for your child to return after symptoms end.
- tummy bugs – your child should stay off school until 48 hours has passed since the last instance of vomiting or diarrhoea.
- a continuous cough, loss of sense of taste or smell, high temperature – these are the symptoms of Covid, your whole household should isolate for 10 days or until your child has a negative PCR test. Your child can return to school after a negative test but if they have had a high temperature, they should not return until 48 hours after it goes down.
- if your child is told by NHS or TEST AND PROTECT to isolate and seek a PCR test, they must stay off until they receive a negative test result.
There are times when we may ask you to collect your child from school – this might be because they are too poorly to concentrate or work or it might be because we suspect Covid symptoms (or another infectious illness) and need to ask you to monitor them at home.
We also recognise that there are times when the wellbeing of the family is supported by a child being off school (for example in the event of a bereavement or a family event like a wedding).
If your child needs to be off for one of the above reasons, please explain it to us fully – I am always happy for you to contact me to ask for advice or support if your child needs to be off. If they are off school following NHS advice but otherwise well, you can request work for them to do at home.
Beyond this, all children should attend school everyday. It is no longer the case that Public Health recommend all pupils in the class remain at home in the event of a positive Covid case in school and you should not keep your child at home to avoid contact with others unless you are advised to do so by a medical professional.
All Covid related absences should be reported to lucy.jess@fife.gov.uk
All request for an absence in advance should be sent to lucy.jess@fife.gov.uk
All requests for work for a pupil who is isolating should be directed to Jamie.rose@fife.gov.uk
All other absences should be reported to the school office by 9am on the morning in question – email to wormitps.enquiries@fife.gov.uk or call to 01334659445.
I am grateful to you all for your support,
Lucy Jess,
25th October 2021
