There is no doubt that persistent absence from school has a hugely negative impact on a child, both academically and socially, and because of this we offer to support parents if there is anything we can do to help.
Good attendance is VITAL in school – if children don’t attend well, they WILL fall behind; the data on this proves it without any shadow of doubt.
The vast majority of children in our school have attendance rates of 90% or better and so for most parents this will not be something to be unduly concerned about.
However, if your child has an attendance rate of 90%, this is very bad – but we know this could be misleading! In lots of cases, 90% could seem ok, or even good perhaps. For example:
– 90% correct in a test would be great wouldn’t it?!
– 90% of people agreeing on something – excellent!
– 90% approval in an opinion poll – anyone would be very happy with that!
BUT 90% attendance will mean a child missing 10% of school.
Missing 10% of a school year is missing 4 weeks / a month of learning every year!
Missing 10% of every year at just primary school would mean missing close to a year of learning!
And then you add in secondary school too and it becomes even more frightening!
The outcome of this is obvious – it will be very bad. It’s very, very likely that they will fall behind in learning.
The only reason school talks about attendance so much is to try to secure the best possible future for your child. It’s simply about your child and their life.