School attendance is one of the most important factors in maintaining a pupil’s progress. Non-attendance is the biggest barrier to learning.
At Drayton Park, to ensure the safety and well-being of our pupils, we will make an ‘Every Day Response’ call should your child be absent from school and you have not informed us why. We will continue to call on each day of absence to check why your child is not in school should we not hear from you first. Our policy is to make a visit to your home address should your child be off school for three consecutive days. Please call the school before 9am on each day your child is absent.
If you are unsure, if your child should be in school, please do call and ask.
Coughs and colds are not reasons for a child to be off school, in which case we would advise calpol, lots of fluids, and then sending into school. Should your child become too ill to be at school we will of course call home for them to be collected.
Leave of absence : All holidays taken in term time will now be marked as unauthorised.
No holidays can be authorised and any request for ‘other’ leave of absence MUST be for exceptional circumstances i.e. close family weddings or funerals. Any leave of absence will be considered in the light of a child’s current attendance record. The Milton Keynes Code of Conduct states that a fine can be incurred if a child is removed from school for ten unauthorised sessions (5 days). Any child who has an attendance record of less than 95% is monitored as this is the absolute minimum expectation.
The Milton Keynes code of conduct states that a fine can be incurred if a child is removed from school for ten consecutive unauthorised sessions (5 days)
From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid within 28 days.
In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period this will be charged at the higher rate of £160. All fines are per child, per adult.
Schools across the country have been given the target of 95% attendance. Drayton Park are very proud to currently have an attendance figure of 96.5% and it is ever increasing. As a school we have set ourselves our personal target of 97% attendance. This is the difference between ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’ when it comes to OFSTED and obviously will also have a huge impact on the pupil’s learning.
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s attendance at school, please do feel free to contact the school or our Attendance Officer, who will be more than happy to help or answer any questions you may have.