Attendance

Here at Merrydale Junior School we are passionate about working together to improve attendance.

We want to see all our pupils with above 95% attendance.

There is a clear link between attendance and achievement. Whenever a child misses school they miss out on important learning. This time can never be caught up. Regular attendance is the most important factor in a child reaching their full potential. 90% attendance actually means that you have been away from school half a day every week! If you have 90% attendance for a whole year that means that you have had nearly 4 whole weeks off school in a year! That is 19 days or 80 lessons!

We Promise To

We will do our best to contact you on the first day of absence by telephone.
We will contact you if we have any concerns over attendance and punctuality.
We will also contact you if we have not been given a reason for absence.
We will give awards to pupils with 100% attendance
We will give weekly class attendance awards.
We will support you in promoting good attendance and punctuality.
We will be there for you if you contact us about issues that may be impacting on your child’s attendance. We will do our best to support you and find a solution to the problem.
The Educational Welfare Officer will get involved with persistent absentees.

Attendance Matters

Children are welcome to come into school from 8.30am to begin their day with a reading session. This is also a chance for parents and staff to have a quick catch up before the day begins. Members of the senior leadership, pastoral and office teams are out on the playground to talk to most mornings and at the end of most school days.

Late arrivals cause disruption to the class and beginning of your child’s day. Please ensure that you make arrangements for your child to arrive at school on time.

Medical Appointments

If it is necessary to have a medical appointment during school hours please try to arrange it so that your child is absent for the afternoon.

We will also require a photocopy of an appointment letter / card in order to record the absence as medical.

Routine dental and doctor appointments should, where possible, be made after school.

Reporting an Absence

If your child is absent please contact the office on 0116 276 7708