Attendance Matters

A big thank you to the vast majority of parents who make sure their children attend school regularly and on time! There is a proven link between excellent attendance and good exam success and equally a correlation between poor attendance and lower exam grades.

This year the Department for Education is tackling attendance head on, in order to ensure that children do not lose any more time from school following the pandemic. Schools across the country have been given very specific direction to improve attendance rates to at least 97% and lower the rates of persistent absenteeism. Sunderland City Council have issued newly updated letters which we will send out accordingly in line with all other schools.

This academic year Thorney Close Primary school is going full steam ahead to work with parents and pupils to ensure we meet the DfE expectation of 97% or above for overall attendance and reduce absenteeism to below pre pandemic data.

However, we cannot do this alone, we need the support from you – our parents and carers!

Here are our top ten things we have planned for this year (starting next week) to keep attendance at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

1. KS2 97%+ Club, each class to display the pupils who have excellent attendance and share on Dojo on a weekly basis.

2. Full House – Early Years and KS1 to celebrate every day or week they have a Full House, shared on Class Dojo

3. Attendance end of term treat, the class with the highest attendance to have a treat at the end of the term, this promotes teamwork and an incentive for children to turn up for school.

4. Certificates for end of term and rewards for end of year 99/100% attendance pupils.

5. Regular communication with parents about their child’s attendance in the post and face to face meetings.

6. Support for parents whose children fell into persistent absentee category last academic year – letter to follow for individual families.

7. Regular attendance or lateness promotions on Class Dojo and Displays around school and assemblies about the importance of good attendance and the consequences of poor attendance.

8. Ensuring every household has a clear understanding of policies, procedures and expectations by providing copies of policies and regular information about expectations.

9. Working with parents and carers of Early Years pupils so that good routines and attitudes to attendance are embedded before they reach statutory school age.

10. Signpost Parents and Carers to Donna, our early help worker, to gain any support needed to improve their children’s attendance rates.

Thanks for your support and remember every school day counts towards future success in life.