Attendance, Lateness and Absence
We Need Your Support!
At Thornden Wood Primary we are committed to continuously improving and raising the achievement of all our pupils. Regular and punctual school attendance is critical if the children are to be successful, and benefit from the opportunities presented to them. We want to raise our attendance from 93.3% last year to 95% this year. Ofsted recognised that we are working hard to improve attendance at Thornden Wood, but we need your support to improve further.
What can you do?
Arrive on time and ready to learn. The school gates open at 08:40 and the children need to be in class and seated ready for the registers to be taken at 08.55. Lateness makes for an unsettled start to the day, so please ensure that your child arrives on time.
Contact us regarding any absence.
Please phone us before 9am if your child is ill. We understand that children get poorly from time to time, but please do ask for our advice if you think we could help to maintain good attendance when your child is unwell – perhaps administering medication in school or setting up appointments with School Health. Mrs Wilson, our Family Liaison Officer is on hand should you need any support.
Try to make medical appointments outside of school hours. If this is not possible, please provide us with the appointment letter/ slip so that we can authorise the absence.
Please do not book holiday during term time
Holidays during term time will not be authorised. Penalty Notice fines will be applied if families choose to take children out of school for holidays. Holidays booked during or just before the May assessment period will always result in the application for a fine to be issued. Leave during term time can only be authorised under exceptional circumstances – please apply in writing to the Head Teacher.
Did you know that:
- a child who is absent a day of school per fortnight (90% attendance) misses an equivalent of one year of their school life
- 90% of young people with absence rates below 85% fail to achieve five or more good grades of GCSE and around one third achieve no GCSEs at all
