At Evercreech we instil the importance of good attendance to our children and families. Research shows that low rates of attendance can adversely affect a child's education and that poor attendance links strongly to underachievement not only in primary school and beyond.

Under new legislation from September 2024, schools are required to take a proactive approach to improving  attendance and working with families with poor attendance at the earliest opportunity.

Our School Attendance Champion is Mrs Jefferies.

The Local Authority and Government both keep a careful check on the level of absence at each school.  They track any pupils who have missed more than 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 days) and will want information regarding the reasons for absence.  

If your child is unwell and will not be attending school, please contact the school office and let them know by 9.15am on the day that your child is unwell.  They will pass the relevant information on to your child's teacher. If we have not heard from you regarding your child's absence, the school office will contact you via ParentMail/Phone call to check that all is well; this is to make sure that we keep your child safe.

Where attendance falls below 90%, we will issue the following:

Stage 1 - Letter 1 outlining improvement to attendance needed.

Stage 2 - Letter 2 - Invitation to attend meeting to discuss how attendance can be improved.

Stage 3 - Letter 3 - Notification of application for Fixed Penalty Notice by the Local Authority.

There is further information regarding attendance on the Government Website via this link: https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence

In keeping with all schools, our school is not legally able to authorise holiday taken during term time.  If families take pupils out of school for a holiday, the Local Authority may issue a penalty notice and fine to that family for each child who is absent. We would therefore ask that you come in and talk with the school before booking a holiday in term time to avoid being fined.  Under extreme exceptional circumstances, schools may grant a leave of absence during term time for reasons other than holidays; this is done in conjunction with advise from the Education Engagement Team.

Please read our School Attendance Policy (below) for details about this.

Where an absence is judged to be unavoidable, please complete a form to request time away from school. Please be aware that when considering whether a fine may be levied, your child's attendance over the past 12 months will be looked at.  You can find a link to our form below.