St Mark's CE Primary School
Attendance
Our commitment to providing the best support for your children and families has led us to collaborate with an organisation known as Inclusive Attendance. Together, we aim to empower children to attend school regularly and overcome any potential barriers they may face in their educational journey.
Our new approach is rooted in an inclusive attendance model designed to ensure that everyone – our staff, families, and children – fully understands their individual roles and collective responsibilities in supporting school attendance, active engagement in learning, and addressing potential barriers.
To achieve this, we are introducing a Multi-Tiered System of Support, a tiered approach that caters to the unique needs of all children. It begins with our universal offer, progresses to Tier 2, which provides additional support for some children through early help services within the school, and finally, Tier 3, where we ensure that certain children and families have access to specialised resources if required.
Effective communication with all our families is central to our values at St Mark’s. In light of this, we will transition from reporting attendance in percentage form to a focus on the number of days missed. This shift will simplify the process, enhance communication, and help all children and families have a clear understanding of the impact of missed school days on education.
Another significant change we are implementing is moving away from a rewards-based system. Instead, we will adopt a recognition-based approach that allows us to be more inclusive and creative in acknowledging personal achievements and promoting the importance of regular school attendance among both our children and families.
Our renewed focus on this inclusive attendance approach will ultimately help us create a culture where everyone at St Mark’s shares the collective responsibility for school attendance.
We invite you to review our attendance policy for more information on this new model and how it will enhance the support we provide. If you have any questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us.
What to do if your child cannot attend school
Please contact the school office on the first day of absence before 9 am on 01782 234411 and choose option 1.
Please explain the reason for absence and give an estimate of how long your child is likely to be absent. If you have not informed the school office of your child’s absence by 9 am on the first day of absence a text message or phone call will be made.
Absence during term time:
Please avoid making routine medical appointments during the school day (doctors, dentists, opticians).
No holidays are authorised. If an application is made a meeting will be arranged to meet the HSLW Mrs S Khan. .
In the case of a family emergency,requiring your child to miss school, please contact the school as soon as possible.
Medication:
If children require prescribed, medication 4 times a day, please take all medication to the office and complete a consent form. Medicine should NOT be given to the child to take into school.
We thank you in advance for all your hard work and support in relation to this matter.
Late Collection:
At the main site the school day finishes at 3.10pm. Any children who are not picked up by 3.20pm are taken to our After School Care Club and a late collection charge of £1 is added to your Arbor Parent account.
Our school contact for any issues relating to school attendance is Mrs S Khan for our Primary School Main Site, and Mrs Malik for our Nursery Class.
