St. Peter's Catholic Primary School Following in Jesus' footsteps, we live, love and learn together as a school family to build a better world.

Attendance

We are now starting our new school year and our big focus this year is attendance.  Our attendance figures for last year were well below the national average and this must change. Absence from school can seriously disrupt your child’s continuity of learning. Not only do they miss the teaching provided on the days they are away; they are also less well prepared for lessons upon their return. There is a consequent risk of underachievement, which together we must seek to avoid.  It is our school’s expectation that regular and good attendance is 100% attendance, unless there is a reason acceptable to the school for absence that can be authorised.

Please click on this link to see the latest Attendance Policy.

Punctuality 

We want to emphasise the importance of being in school on time as there have been numerous incidents of some families routinely arriving at school after 8.45am or later and collecting their children after 3.15pm or later.

School starts at 8.45am every day. Children need to be in their class by 8.45am so that they can start their lessons promptly. Children who arrive late are greatly disadvantaged because they miss starting the day with their peers and the beginning of lessons. This means that they are often unsettled and confused about tasks and is disruptive to their learning and the learning of other children.

It is also very important that children establish good routines and habits in preparation for the rest of their lives. Punctuality is a life skill that they need to develop whilst they are young.

We will continue to focus on this area with children through class work and school assemblies.

We are required to monitor children’s punctuality and attendance. On-going lateness is classified as an unauthorised absence and this is contrary to The Education Act.

We understand that there may be rare occasions when you are unavoidably late due to unforeseen circumstances. On these occasions please make sure that you contact the school office to inform us when you will arrive.

Children must be collected at 3.15pm - if you are going to be late then please contact the school office as soon as possible.

High levels of unauthorised absences or poor punctuality can result in a referral to the Education Inclusion Department or other agencies which have a duty to investigate further and could result in legal action being taken against you.

If you are experiencing difficulties with punctuality and would like to talk to us about it, please do not hesitate to contact the school’s Attendance Officer, Mrs Angela Ballard.

Thank you for your co-operation.