WHY IS SCHOOL ATTENDANCE SO IMPORTANT?
Pupils from P6 and P7 formed a Pupil Participation Group to investigate the impact of attendance and lateness on learning!
Our teaching staff have investigated this in greater detail and were surprised by some of the research findings from a study carried out in East Lothian. Please click on the hyperlinks to see some information leaflets they have produced. Attendance Leaflet Sample Attendance Leaflet Sample 2 Attendance Leaflet Sample 3
Excellent attendance at school is important to allow your child to fulfil their potential and for them to have the best possible start in life. Below are just some of the key reasons why it is so important children attend school:
• to learn
• to have fun and make new friends
• to understand responsibility
• to experience new things in life
• to develop awareness of other cultures, religions, ethnicity and gender difference
• to achieve
• to gain qualifications
• to develop new skills
• to build confidence and self-esteem
• to grow as individuals!
Excellent attendance at school is important to allow your child to fulfil their potential and for them to have the best possible start in life.
Attendance is a key priority for our school. We monitor pupil attendance closely and work with pupils and families to ensure any barrier is removed to allow all pupils to access learning in school.
Midlothian Council have an expectation of 96% school attendance. Attendance and lateness of all pupils is therefore monitored weekly in school and parents and carers will be notified when appropriate. It is therefore extremely important that families contact the school office to inform of any medical absence or reasons for late arrival to school. Please be aware that arrival to school following the bell and entering by the main entrance will be marked as being late. Please note that medical absences do not generate attendance letters but will be closely monitored. Holidays within term time are also recognised as unauthorised absences in most cases and will also result in attendance letters being issued to families.
Letters will be sent to parents in line with the guidance given below:
Attendance
- If your child’s attendance falls below 97% an initial letter will be sent to parents/carers
- If your child’s attendance continues to decline, and falls below 95% a second letter will be sent
- Should your child’s attendance fall below 90% you will be invited in to school to meet regarding this
Lateness
- If your child accrues 30 minutes of lateness an initial letter will be sent to parents/carers
- If your child accrues 60 minutes of lateness a second letter will be sent to parents/carers
- If your child accrues 90 minutes of lateness you will be invited in to school to meet regarding this