Attendance and Absence Reporting
Regular attendance is a fundamental pillar of education. It plays a pivotal role in shaping academic success, personal growth, and prospects.
Here at Windmill Primary School, we are committed to transforming educational achievement and providing pupils with the best start in life academically and as citizens. We promote the importance of pupils attending school on every day possible and recognise that daily attendance is crucial to success. It is the responsibility of all stakeholders across our school community – parents/carers, staff, governors, and pupils – to work together to ensure that every pupil and their family has the support and strategies required to attend school daily.
Punctuality
Pupils are expected to arrive at school in time to be in class and ready to learn from 8:45am when morning registers are then taken. The school gates are open between 8:35 and 8:50am. Please note that if a pupil arrives after 8:50am, they must sign-in via the school office. Pupils arriving after 8:50am will be marked as late. If a pupil arrives at 9:15am or later, after the close of all registers, the sign-in code will constitute as an absence and negatively impact a pupil’s attendance record. Arriving at school late is disruptive to a pupil’s daily routine and means that they miss a considerable amount of valuable learning time.
| Minutes late per day | Lost learning time |
| 5 minutes | 3.4 school days per year |
| 10 minutes | 6.9 school days per year |
| 15 minutes | 10.3 school days per year |
| 20 minutes | 13.8 school days per year |
| 30 minutes | 20.7 school days per year |
Windmill Attendance Guide
Reporting an absence
Parents and carers are expected to communicate with school promptly to inform if their child is going to be absent due to illness or other reasons and maintain daily contact during the period of absence.
Absences must be reported by contacting the school office on 01189029123 by 8:30am on the first day of absence. Telephone messages will be recorded by the answerphone and subsequently checked against the class register.
Other methods for reporting absence are:
- ParentMail App - Absence tab by 8.30am
- An email communication (info@windmillschool.org) of absence is also sufficient if provided by 8:30am.
Please continue to contact the school daily to update the office on your child's absence.
Please note: If no message is received, the school office will endeavour to contact you on the telephone contact numbers given by you.
Please inform the school if your child contracts an infectious disease such as chicken pox, mumps, and German measles (rubella), which can have serious implications for other children and staff.
If you are unsure if you child is too ill for school, information can be found on the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Guidance from NHS UK: Vomiting and diarrhoea. Children with diarrhoea and/or vomiting must be kept off school until at least 48 hours after their symptoms have gone. Most cases of diarrhoea and vomiting in children get better without treatment, however if symptoms persist consult your GP.
Dental and Medical Appointments
Parents and carers are asked most earnestly not to arrange these during school sessions, except in cases of urgency, so that considerable interference with school work is avoided. Please do not keep children out of school for the whole day unless absolutely necessary.
Encouraging School Attendance
Here at Windmill, we prioritise the encouragement of school attendance. We do this in the following ways:
- by providing a caring and welcoming learning environment
- staff build positive relationships with every child
- providing an engaging curriculum
- taking the time to liaise with families to understand any potential barrier to attendance
- by responding promptly to a child’s or parent’s concerns about the school
- we have a named attendance officer who monitors and works to address attendance barriers
- by publishing and displaying attendance statistics
- by monitoring pupils attendance and responding swiftly to concerns around attendance
Safeguarding children
Home visits are conducted as a standard protocol to families to follow-up on pupil absences and provide support to pupils and parents/carers where appropriate.
The school has a duty to safeguard the welfare of all students. Any concerns about a child’s attendance will be investigated promptly to ensure support for their wellbeing.
If there are unexplained/prolonged periods of absence or an identified safeguarding concern, this may require school to contact external agencies.
Leave during term time
Parents and carers must request any planned leave of absence for exceptional circumstances in writing prior to the intended absence of their child. Requests will be reviewed, and a decision made as to whether the absence will be authorised or unauthorised.
Forms can be collected and returned to the school office.
In line with Department for Education (2024) regulations, holidays or absences for leisure and recreation would not constitute as exceptional circumstances. As per the National Framework for Penalty Notices (2024), parents and carers may be issued with a fixed penalty notice or legal sanction if a pupil is absent due to unauthorised leave during term time.
Attendance support
Parents and carers are invited to contact the school if they wish to discuss their child’s attendance further or seek additional support at any time. Our school Attendance Lead is: Mrs K Esson. Our school Senior Leader and Champion for Attendance is Mrs P Bond.
Please contact us on 01189029123 to initially speak with a member of our Attendance Team, or email: head@windmillschool.org.
Attendance recognition
Our approach promotes recognition of personal and collective achievements, fostering positive environments and developing intrinsic motivation. Recognition may be in the form of verbal conversations; celebrations; postcards; or text message communication. Through our rich curriculum offer, we strive to instil values within our pupils which support them to become successful citizens of the future and promote that school attendance is a key component to this success.
Application for Special Leave of Absence
There is no entitlement in law to time off in school terms to go on holiday. School holiday dates are published a year in advance and Windmill Primary School strongly advises parents/carers to book their family holidays during the school holiday periods.
In line with government guidance and the policies of other local schools, Windmill Primary School will authorise leave of absence in term time only in exceptional circumstances.
Exceptional Circumstances include:
- service personnel and other employees who are prevented from taking holidays outside of term time if the holiday will have minimal disruption to the pupil’s education
- when a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis.
Each request will be considered individually taking into account:
- the child(ren)’s record of attendance
- potential impact on the child(ren)’s progress
- the time of the holiday, ensuring that it would not prevent the child(ren) from missing any important examinations.
It should be noted that under The Education (Pupil Registration)(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 that the Educational Welfare Service, acting on behalf of Wokingham Borough Council, may issue a Penalty Notice for a child’s unauthorised absence from school. The amount payable is £60 rising to £120 if not paid promptly and both parents are liable to receive a notice for each child who is absent.
Managing Persistent Absence
A pupil becomes a ‘persistent absentee’ when they miss 10% or more schooling across the academic year for whatever reason. Windmill Primary Schools staff monitor absence thoroughly and if a child becomes a persistent absentee the Attendance Officer or Head of School will call the parent to discuss their concerns and may refer the child to the Education Welfare Officer.
Persistent absence can be very detremental to a child's progress and wellbeing. We are comitted to working with families of children with absence to improve attendance.
More information around persistant absence and how to improve attendance can be found on the DfE website How to improve your child’s school attendance and where to get support - The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)
Windmill Persistent Absence Flowchart
Medical Conditions
Windmill Primary School will seek to support, as far as is practical, any child that has a medical condition to ensure his or her health and safety, welfare and inclusion in school life. Whenever possible parents should administer medicines to their child at home or by visiting the school during the day. Where the school accepts responsibility to administer medicine parents will be required to complete a form giving consent and clear instructions.
View our Supporting Children with Medical Conditions Policy on the GLF Schools website
