Attendance
At Kells Lane, we know that children can only learn, thrive and Find Their Remarkable when they are in school. Every day matters. We take attendance seriously because we genuinely believe that being here, every day, is one of the most important things a child can do for their own future. The relationships children build, the knowledge they acquire and the confidence they develop all depend on consistent, regular attendance.
Regular attendance at school promotes pupils’ wellbeing, maximises progress in learning and helps children to reach their potential.
Why Attendance Matters
The impact of absence — the numbers
It is easy to underestimate how quickly absences add up. The table below shows what different levels of attendance actually mean in terms of days and lessons missed across a school year:
100% attendance — 0 days missed
95% attendance — 9.5 days missed (around 2 weeks)
90% attendance — 19 days missed (around 4 weeks) — this is classified as Persistently Absent
80% attendance — 38 days missed (nearly 8 weeks) — the equivalent of missing a whole half a term every term
The impact on learning
Learning at school is cumulative and sequential. When children miss sessions, they miss the foundations on which future learning is built. In maths, a missed lesson on fractions can create a gap that affects work on percentages, decimals and algebra in later years. In reading, missed phonics sessions in the early years can affect fluency throughout Key Stage 2.
Children who attend regularly are more likely to make strong progress, achieve well at the end of Key Stage 2, and transition to secondary school with confidence and solid foundations.
The social impact
School is not just about academic learning. It is where children build friendships, develop social skills, learn to navigate conflict, and develop the emotional resilience that comes from being part of a community. Children who miss school regularly can find it harder to maintain friendships and feel a sense of belonging — which in turn can make them less willing to attend.
Our Attendance Expectation
We aim for every child to achieve the highest possible attendance throughout the school year. We celebrate strong attendance and work closely with families when attendance begins to cause concern.
The national threshold for Persistent Absence is 90% — meaning a child who misses 10% or more of sessions is classified as Persistently Absent. We work proactively to identify and support any child whose attendance falls towards this level, well before it becomes a concern.
Attendance for all children is monitored on a weekly basis, with the school seeking to actively work with parents to ensure a regular pattern is maintained.
Punctuality
Arriving on time is as important as attending. Late arrivals disrupt the start of the school day for every child and mean children miss vital morning routines, registration and early learning time.
• Arriving 5 minutes late every day equals more than 3 days of missed learning across the year
• Arriving 10 minutes late every day equals more than 6 days of missed learning across the year
• Arriving 15 minutes late every day equals more than 9 days of missed learning across the year
Our school gates open at 8.45am and close at 9am prompt. We ask all families to ensure their child arrives on time, ready to learn.
Medical Appointments
Medical appointments, where possible, should be made outside of school hours. You may be asked to show your appointment letter at the school office.
If your child has suffered from sickness or diarrhoea they must not return to school for 48 hours from the last bout, as they may still be contagious. If you are unsure as to whether your child is well enough to attend school, the following link gives clear guidance:
Is my child too ill for school?
Reporting an Absence
If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, please let us know as early as possible on the first day of absence.
• By phone: call the school office on 0191 433 4140 before 9.00am
• By School Gateway: use the School Gateway app to report your child’s absence
Please report your child’s absence every day they are unwell. If we do not hear from you, we will contact you to establish the reason for absence — unexplained absences cannot be recorded as authorised.
Authorised and Unauthorised Absence
Not all absences are treated equally. The Headteacher has the authority to decide whether an absence is authorised or unauthorised. Authorised absences include: genuine illness, medical or dental appointments that cannot be arranged outside school hours, and exceptional circumstances agreed in advance with the school.
Unauthorised absences include: holidays taken during term time without prior permission, absences where no reason has been provided, and absences the Headteacher does not consider to be sufficiently serious to warrant authorisation.
Holidays during term time: we strongly discourage holidays during term time and cannot guarantee they will be authorised. Where a holiday is taken without permission, a Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued by the Local Authority.
Teachers are unable to provide work for children to complete whilst on holiday.
We will of course do our best to help your child catch up on missed learning when they return to school.
You must notify school via a Leave of Absence form a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the start of the absence, should you wish to take your child out of school. You can collect a form from the main office or complete using this link:
How We Support Families
We understand that sometimes attendance is genuinely difficult — through illness, family circumstances or other challenges. We never judge, and we always prefer to work with families rather than against them. If your child is struggling to attend school — for any reason — please talk to us. Our Deputy Headteacher Miss Wilson, is the attendance lead teacher and can be contacted via the school office.
We have support available and would much rather know about a difficulty early so we can help, than find out later when the problem has grown.
We monitor attendance carefully throughout the year. Where we have concerns, we will contact you to discuss how we can work together to improve your child’s attendance. This may include:
• An informal conversation with the class teacher or school office
• A meeting with the Headteacher or Senior Leadership Team
• Referral to external agencies where appropriate
• An attendance support plan agreed with the family