Attendance
St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery School recognises the clear link between the attendance, progress and attainment of pupils. Our aim is to encourage the highest possible levels of attendance and punctuality for pupils within our school to support learning and development. The importance of attendance and punctuality is underpinned by an awareness of safeguarding issues. It is important to see our children every day and provide an educationally safe and secure environment. To gain the greatest benefit from their education, it is vital that all pupils attend regularly and on time. Pupils should aim to attend every day that the school is open. We set a target for all pupils to aim for 100% attendance with the expectation pupils achieve at least 97%. As a school we define regular attendance as 97% or above.
Well done to all of these children with excellent attendance! We have Gold and Silver certificate winners for the Summer Term and certificate winners for 100% attendance all year! That is a fantastic achievement so thank you to parents and carers for your support.
Well done to Deborah who won the hamper, and Praise who won £50 in vouchers!
Absence
If your child is going to be absent from school, it is your duty as the parent/carer to notify the school office prior to 9am. You can contact the school office on 0151-525-8489 or fill in the absence form below, the reason for absence will be reviewed by the attendance officer; Mrs Lavelle. Once attendance has been reviewed, Mrs Lavelle may call you to discuss in further detail. If you are unsure regarding your child's illness and exclusion periods please view the 'Infection Exclusion Periods' table further down the page. Please note upon your child's return to school, in order for the absence to be authorised, medical evidence will be required, you can email this to attendance@stfrancisdesalesinf.liverpool.sch.uk
Approved medical evidence consists of photograph of the medication prescribed (clearly showing the prescription label), letter from the doctor stating your child is not fit to attend school or a discharge note from the hospital.
Medical Appointments
At St Francis de Sales Catholic Infant and Nursery school we understand children may need to attend medical appointments, however we do ask that routine dental/medical appointments are booked out of school hours. If your child does need to attend a medical appointment we would expect your child to attend school either before or after their appointment (or both before and after if appointment around midday); a whole days absence will not be authorised. A copy of the appointment letter will also be required, please email a photo/copy of your child's medical letter to the email address below:
Punctuality
Pupils should arrive and be collected from school on time:
- late arrival can cause pupils to feel anxious or upset;
- we contact parents of pupils who have patterns of lateness to talk about how to arrive and/or be collected on time.
Any child who is late will enter through the office and parents will be expected confirm the reason for the lateness.
Infection Exclusion Periods
Most common childhood illnesses do not require your child to take time off school, if you click the link below 'Exclusion Table' this will take you to a government document which states childhood illnesses and their exclusion periods. If your child is absent from school with an illness that does not have an exclusion period, your child's absence will not be authorised without medical evidence.
Click for more information When should my child stay off school?
Should my child come to school?
Click for information from NHS https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Medication In School
There will be occasions when children need to take prescribed medication during school time. Where possible such medication must be administered at home, 3 times daily can be given before school, at home time and at bedtime. If, however, your child needs medication during the school day, a form must be completed by a parent/carer beforehand. This form is available from the school
office. All prescribed medication in school must be in the original box with the child’s name printed on it. All medication given by school staff will be recorded and stored on the child’s file.
Late Pick-Up /Uncollected Children
We have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children under Section 175 Education Act 2002.
Click the link for the actions that we will take if a child remains uncollected by an adult at the end of the school day.
Click the link for DFE information about improving your child's school attendance.
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/03/improving-school-attendance/
Holidays
Holidays in term time are not permitted and will not be authorised. If you are booking a holiday, a meeting with the head teacher is required. Please call the school office on 0151-525-8489 to book a meeting. Penalty charges will incur for both parents upon your child's return to school.
The perfect time to take holidays is during the Whit Half term (May/June) as the children are off for 2 weeks, the majority of schools in the UK have 1 week. You may find holiday costs are significantly reduced for one of these weeks.
Attendance Incentives
We took three of our excellent attendees to LFC this morning. They had a tour, were given signed pictures and then got to draw the matches that we will be raffling tickets for in the next school year…one of the matches drawn was the Derby!!!! Thank you LFC.
Congratulations to Isabella who won the Spring attendance incentive prize. Well done and enjoy your treats!
Congratulations to the 268 children who have achieved 97% attendance throughout the Spring attendance incentive! They have all enjoyed making and eating delicious Easter biscuits.
