Attendance

Attendance Matters

As a school, we can't emphasise enough how important good school attendance is. We know that children who attend school the most; achieve the highest.

It is also important to note that poor attendance can create or increase anxiety in children as they lack routine; feel they are falling behind with work so have the pressure of catching up; and friendship groups may change in their absence.

Poor attendance makes children’s lives harder.

Children should only be absent when they are genuinely too sick to attend school. With most mild illnesses, such as coughs and colds, children can still attend school. Generally, children feel better as the day goes on.

Holidays should not be booked during term time. Children should also not be absent because they are tired or for a birthday.

There are 175 days during which children are not in school to enjoy family time and other magical moments.

Remember, we can't teach an empty chair!

Healthy Children 

We know that sometimes our pupils cannot come to school because they are really unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other students. Medical advice is clear however that children with mild illness will often be well enough to attend - for example if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature. The NHS guidance Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) is designed to support parents in their decision making about mild illness. 

We also know that pupils fall behind their friends and classmates when they miss school. At Hatton Hill School we want the amount of missed education to be reduced as much as possible. We believe that our community is stronger together, with all of our pupils in school, on time, every day. We are building life skills, life-long friendships and preparing your child for future success. 

It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they're unwell. The information below is designed to help you make a decision, however if you are concerned about your child, always seek medical advice. 

Is my child too ill for school? https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

Alder Hey Symptom Checker: Please see below a poster and short video clip explaining Alder Hey's new support service in the form of an easy to use symptom checker. This will help parents decide how to best access the appropriate level of care for a poorly child:

School Nurse Attend Anywhere Appointments: The School Health Team is not currently offering face-to-face drop-in sessions at our school. Instead, Attend Anywhere Appointments are being offered online. A leaflet explaining this can be found below and dates on which the service is being offered will be emailed to you and appear on our school calendar. If you are unable to attend either of the allocated sessions but still wish to speak to the school health team. Please contact the team on:

Tel: 0151 247 6354 or via email: [email protected].

Our attendance offier, Mrs McLoughlin, and our Learning Mentor, Mrs Hickey, work very hard supporting our children and to help ensure they are in school learning, achieving and having fun. They are easily contacted and keen to work with families to improve attendance and punctuality:

Every Minute Counts

Children should be on time each and every day. School opens its doors at 8.45am to allow children time to enter the school and settle before registration at 8.55am. Our School Council spoke to children throughout the school and created the leaflet below to communicate to adults how lateness makes them feel. It is clear that being late makes children unhappy.