Attendance

At Norwood, we believe that every day in school counts. Good attendance is one of the most important factors in helping children achieve their full potential, develop positive friendships, build confidence and enjoy school. The Department for Education (DfE) states that regular attendance is vital for children's learning, wellbeing, personal development and future success.

We use a system called AStar Attendance to help monitor our school attendance. You may receive letters and updates from AStar Attendance about your child, or you can monitor your child's attendance and absence directly through the Arbor Parent App. If you need help or support, please do get in contact.

Why is attendance important?

Children who attend school regularly:

Make better academic progress.
Develop strong friendships and social skills.
Build positive routines and resilience.
Feel a greater sense of belonging within the school community.
Have access to a wide range of learning, enrichment and support opportunities.

Even a small amount of absence can have a significant impact on learning. Lessons build on previous knowledge, and it can be difficult for children to catch up when they miss school.

Our attendance expectations

We expect all children to attend school every day and on time unless they are genuinely unwell or there are exceptional circumstances.

The DfE identifies a child as Persistently Absent when they miss 10% or more of school sessions. This means that missing just one day every fortnight across the school year can place a child into this category.

How parents can help

Parents and carers play a crucial role in ensuring excellent attendance. You can help by:

Establishing consistent bedtime and morning routines.
Ensuring your child arrives at school by 8:45am every day.
Talking positively about school and learning.
Avoiding routine appointments during the school day wherever possible.
Encouraging resilience and helping children overcome worries about attending school.
Contacting the school at the earliest opportunity if attendance becomes difficult.
Booking family holidays outside term time.

If your child feels anxious about school, please speak to us.

Is my child too ill for school?

We follow NHS and UK Health Security Agency guidance when considering illness-related absence.

Children should usually attend school if they have:

A mild cough or common cold.
A runny nose.
A mild sore throat.
Head lice.
Conjunctivitis (unless they are very unwell).
Hand, foot and mouth disease, if they are otherwise well enough.

Children should stay at home if they have:

A high temperature (fever).
Vomiting or diarrhoea (they should remain off school until 48 hours after the last episode).
Chickenpox (until all spots have crusted over).
Scarlet fever (until at least 24 hours after starting antibiotics).
Impetigo (until lesions have healed or 48 hours after starting antibiotics).

If you are unsure whether your child is well enough for school, please refer to the NHS Is My Child Too Ill for School? guidance or contact the school office for advice.

Working together

Excellent attendance is everyone's responsibility. By working together, we can ensure that every child enjoys the best possible opportunities to learn, develop and thrive.

If you have concerns about your child's attendance, please contact the school as early as possible. We are here to help and will work with you to find solutions that support your child to attend school regularly and successfully.