Attendance

Good attendance and punctuality are vital if pupils are to achieve their maximum potential. Stocksbridge Nursery Infant School is committed to working with parents/carers to ensure that each pupil benefits from the academic, personal and social opportunities available to them during their years with us.

A high level of attendance at school is not only a legal requirement but is vital for all our pupils to enable a continuity of learning, thereby ensuring maximum progress for all. There is a clear link between good attendance and academic achievement, as well as enabling the development of personal, social and emotional skills.

We aim to achieve an attendance level of over 96%. We also aim to minimise levels of unauthorised attendance.

Our Attendance Policy is available here. 

Every School Day Matters!

365 days in a year 190 school days
100% attendance 190 days attendance 0 weeks absence
95% attendance 180 days attendance 2 weeks absence
90% attendance 171 days attendance 4 weeks absence
85% attendance 161 days attendance 6 weeks absence
80% attendance 152 days attendance more than half a term absence
75% attendance 143 days attendance 9 + weeks absence

Responding to absence

Class registers open when school starts and close 5 minutes after. Pupils will be marked absent if they are not present at the time of registration.  The school will contact parents/carers when a pupil’s absence from school is unexplained. Evidence may be requested in relation to the reasons given for absence.

Unauthorised absences can lead to a pupil’s attendance being brought to the attention of the Education Welfare Officer (EWO) and/or Sheffield City Council’s Attendance and Inclusion Officer. It can also result the Local Authority issuing a Fixed Penalty Fine and/or a summons to appear at Magistrates Court.

Information relating to the Council’s School Attendance Policy and the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices is available on the Council’s website. 

Responding to lateness

Pupils arriving up to 20 minutes after their class register closes are marked as late (recorded as an ‘L’ in the register).  Pupils arriving more than 20 minutes after their class register closes are marked as an unauthorised absence (recorded as a ‘U’ in the register). 

The school monitors punctuality as well as attendance and will contact parents/carers in relation to punctuality when lateness is persistent. Contact with parents / carers is made via letter and in some cases parents/carers may be invited to attend a meeting in school to help resolve any ongoing issues relating to their punctuality.

Every Minute Matters! Lateness = Lost Learning

The figures below are calculated over a school year.

5 minutes late each day 3 days lost!
10 minutes late each day 6.5 days lost!
15 minutes late each day 10 days lost!
20 minutes late each day 13 days lost!
30 minutes late each day 19 days lost!

Requests for leave of absence during term time

Parents do not have an automatic right to remove their child from school during term time. Following Government guidelines, Sheffield City Council’s policy is to not authorise leave of absence for holidays during term time. School expects all holidays to be arranged out of term time.

All requests for term time leave should be made in writing on a Request for Exceptional Leave form. The request should be submitted at least 20 working days in advance of the intended leave.  The actual date that the child will return to school should always be provided by the parent/carer.

School will inform parents in writing advising whether the leave is authorised or unauthorised, clearly stating why a decision has been taken. Where there are genuine exceptional circumstances school may authorise leave during term time and will consider each request on its own merit.

Parents should consider all requests to be unauthorised unless they hear otherwise.

If an unauthorised holiday is taken a Penalty Notice may be issued by the Council. The decision is made by Sheffield Council’s Prevention & Intervention Service and the Council undertakes any necessary action.  Information relating to the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices is available on the Council’s website. 

The school must apply the Council’s policy consistently. 

Changes to Fixed Penalty Notices as of August 2024

Penalty notice fines are changing.  From August 2024 each parent will be fined for each child for 5 or more consecutive days of term time leave.  The fine is increasing to £160 per parent, per child within 28 days.  This is reduced to £80 per parent per child if paid within 21 days.  If there is a second offence within 3 years the fine increased to £160 per parent, per child. Please see the Council’s Changes to Penalty Notice Fines flyer or website for more information.