Headteacher: Wendy Walters
Telephone: 0151 722 2435
Email: admin@rudstonprimary.co.uk

Attendance and Welfare

Attendance

At Rudston we believe that for children to achieve their full potential they need to attend regularly and punctually. Children should be at school, on time, every day the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. Parents/carers should contact the school on the first day of a pupil’s absence. They should state the reason for their child’s absence and also the date on which they are expected to return to school. Notification of absence should be by parental note, school app, telephone call or personal contact.

Longer periods of illness, due to chicken pox, flu, etc are expected. However, some children have two or three days away from school throughout the school year due to illness. This quickly adds up to pupils missing a significant number of days. This is why we are asking parents to consider if their child really needs to miss the time from school. If possible, bring your child to school and see if they could manage being in school, or bring them in a little later.

Ring, or ask at the office for advice if you are not sure. We will always call you if your child is too ill to be at school. In the register it is noted that school sent the child home, as evidence of this action.

Children who are consistently absent with two or three days’ illness as a pattern will be asked to meet with the headteacher and EWO to address any health concerns.

Late Arrivals

The school gates open between 8.45 and 8.55am for Reception; the gates for Key Stage 1 open between 8:45 and 8:55am; for Key Stage 2, the gates open between 8:40 and 8:55am. Children should be in the school playground or year group entrance area when the doors open to signal the start of the school day. The school gates are closed by 8.55am – any child who arrives after this time will need to enter school at the main entrance on Rudston Road and report to the office giving the reason for lateness via the electronic sign in.

At Rudston, we have been working hard to improve attendance and time keeping at the school. There are a few key things that we wish to develop with all our families:

  • It is essential that parents are on time bringing children to school and when collecting them at the end of the day. Class teachers will be asking for reasons for any lateness and persistent lateness will be further investigated by school or the Education Welfare Service.
  • There has been a change of policy with regard to punctuality. The Local Authority is urging schools to issue penalty notices to families that are persistently late for school.
  • Before this action, we would write to you informing you of your punctuality record then, if there is no improvement, a parents’ meeting will be arranged. Only if there is no improvement following this meeting would any type of fine or court procedure be used.

This is an area of school life that we can only improve with your support and co-operation.

Absence

If your child is absent you must:

  • Contact us as soon as possible on the first day of absence
  • Send a note, via Parent APP, on the first day they return with an explanation of the absence;

If your child is absent we will:

  • Telephone you on the first day of absence if we have not heard from you
  • Contact you after three days absence if we have not heard from you
  • Invite you in to discuss the situation with the Headteacher if absence persists
  • Refer the matter to the Pupil Attendance & Education Welfare Officer.
Dental and Medical Appointments