Expectations
- Parents and carers should encourage good school attendance and timekeeping. Maximising attendance leads to maximising potential for the future.
- Your child is expected to be in school before 8:53am when the warning bell rings.
- If your child is going to be absent you should phone the school office from 8.15am until 9:15am.
- A text message will be sent to parents whose child is absent, and a message has not been received to explain this. A reply can be made to this text message.
- On the child’s return to school following an absence a note should be brought in to explain the absence indicating the dates which it is for and the reason for absence.
- Appointments should, if possible, be made out with the school day.
If a child does need to attend an appointment during school hours an appointment card or note should be handed into the school office in advance so that it can be recorded appropriately on SEEMiS. - Family holidays should be arranged during school holidays and not during term time. Term time holidays will be recorded as an unauthorised absence (except in exceptional circumstances).
- If a child is going to be absent from school for an extended period e.g. in hospital, please contact the relevant Pupil Support Teacher to arrange for work to be sent home or any other support which may be required.
- If parents/carers are concerned about their child’s attendance they should contact their son/daughter’s Pupil Support Teacher to discuss as early as possible.
Lost minutes mean lost learning…
| When your child misses just … | That equals … | Which is … | And therefore from P1 to S4 that is … |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes a day | 50 minutes of learning each week | Nearly 1½ weeks per year | Nearly ½ a year of learning |
| 20 minutes a day | 1 hour and 40 minutes of learning each week | Nearly 2½ weeks per year | Nearly ¾ of a year of learning |
| ½ an hour a day | ½ a day of learning each week | Nearly 4 weeks per year | 1 year and 6 weeks of learning |
| 1 hour a day | 1 day of learning each week | 8 weeks per year | 1 year and 12 weeks of learning |
Pupil Support Teacher & Year Head
- Your child’s Pupil Support Teacher and Year Head will be closely monitoring attendance
- If attendance is becoming a concern (below 90%) a letter will be sent home to alert you to this. These letters are used in all North Lanarkshire Schools with similar statistics to those shown above.
- Further absence will result in an invite to school to discuss the reasons for this.
If your child’s attendance continues to drop and cause concern, then the school may use the following interventions to help support you and your child:
- Letters
- Meeting with pupil support teacher, depute or head teacher
- Wellbeing visits from campus police officer
- Discussed with school’s Cluster Improvement & Integration Lead
- Referral to Family Engagement Support Assistant
- Referral to multiagency team (Including social work and health)
- Referral to Children’s Reporter
