Attendance
Why is good attendance important?
Being at school every day is important to a child’s education. They benefit from well-planned sequences of lessons designed to ensure that they make the best possible progress. If they are frequently absent this learning is disrupted and makes it difficult to keep up. Having good attendance also teaches children a vital life skill for when they move into further education and the world of work.
Everyone that comes to Thornton is expected to aim for 97% attendance, including the grown ups! We understand that everyone gets sick from time to time but minor coughs, colds or aches and pains should not stop a child from coming to school.
Only the most serious or contagious illnesses should keep your child away from school such as vomiting (for 48 hours), high temperature, chicken pox etc. If your child does feel a little bit under the weather, bring them into school and let us know and we will monitor them. We have a great team of first aiders who will assess them and if their condition deteriorates we will call you. We usually find that once they are here they quickly feel better once they are working and with their friends. If your child is really too poorly to come to school you must let us know first thing in the morning. You can either telephone or email. If the absence is going to last more than a day then we may require a doctor’s note if your child has low attendance.
At Thornton we like to reward good attendance with a range of attendance incentives and prizes. Children with 100% attendance for a half term receive a ‘Golden Ticket’ to a cinema experience at school and those children who achieve 100% for a whole year are invited to attend a reward trip with our Senior Leadership Team. Where a child’s attendance falls below 90% we have our ‘Magic 20’ award for children who achieve 20 consecutive days at school and begin to improve their attendance.
Absence in term time
Absence in term time for any reason other than genuine illness, religious observance of one day (for example to celebrate Eid) or to attend the funeral of a close relative will not be authorised under any circumstances.
Extended absence in term time
Extended Absence in term time will not be authorised under any circumstances in line with Local Authority and Government guidance and you may be fined if you take your child out of school, especially if their attendance is below 97%.
If you do decide to take your child your child out of school during term time for any reason against this guidance then you MUST book an appointment with a member of the Senior Leadership Team – Mrs Grace, Mr Mason, Mrs Biddle-Rawbone or Mrs Mazar so that they can ascertain full information about your trip and get a copy of any tickets if you are travelling outside the UK.
If your child is not in school for an extended period of time and you have not informed us, or your child does not return on the date you give the school, then we will make a visit to your home to ascertain the whereabouts of your children. If we can find no trace of you or your children then we will notify the Children Missing in Education (CMIE) team at Birmingham City Council. This process is an important part of our Safeguarding Policy and also part of the Government's Prevent Duty.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE SCHOOL BY ENSURING THAT YOU BOOK TRIPS OUTSIDE TERM TIME. YOU WILL BE AT RISK OF LOSING YOUR CHILD'S PLACE AND JEOPARDISING THEIR EDUCATION, NOT TO MENTION BEING FINED, IF YOU DO NOT MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO COMPLY WITH THIS GUIDANCE.