At Strand, we celebrate our attendance each week in our attendance assembly.

At Strand Primary Academy our Home School Pastoral Officer is Mrs Norman, who monitors attendance of pupils and their punctuality.

School attendance and attainment are closely linked. Mrs Norman works with parents to ensure children reach their full potential by attending school regularly.

She is here to help and support you in getting your child into school, on time, and ready to learn!

Our Attendance Rewards

Letter Lotto

A letter for every day that you have a full class. When you have spelt ‘Strand Academy’ your class has a non-uniform day and £5 to save up for a class treat.

Dojo

A Dojo for every day you attend and another for every day you attend on time.

An extra Dojo for a full week’s attendance and another for a full week on time.

Class Attendance

The class with the highest attendance each week will get hot chocolate.

Any class with 96% or above will get extra play.

Any class with 100% will get extra play, hot chocolate and a biscuit.

Birthdays

If your birthday is on a school day, you can wear non-uniform to school. If your birthday is in the holidays or on a weekend, you can wear non-uniform on the day nearest to your birthday.

Individual 100% Reward

100% attendance for 1 half term = extra play

100% attendance for Autumn term = movie and popcorn

100% attendance for Spring term = Easter activities

100% attendance for Summer term = Picnic and games on the field

100% for the full year  – Trip to the park for a picnic.

End of Term Attendance Raffle

At the end of every full term, we will have a raffle to win various prizes. 

If you have 100% attendance for a full term, you will receive 4 raffle tickets.

If you have 98%-99% attendance, you will receive 2 raffle tickets.

If you have 96%-97% attendance, you will receive 1 raffle ticket.

End of Year Attendance Raffle

In July we will have an attendance raffle. KS2 can win a bike and KS1 can win a scooter. 

If you have 100% attendance for a full half term, you will receive 10 raffle tickets.

If you have 98%-99% attendance, you will receive 5 raffle tickets.

If you have 96%-97% attendance, you will receive 2 raffle tickets.

Our Attendance Target at Strand Primary Academy is:

96.5%

ARE YOU HOT (Here On Time)

Lateness not only affects your child’s education – it doesn’t allow them the social time to settle with their friends, they may feel upset or embarrassed, and it disrupts the rest of the class.

Being frequently late for school adds up to lost learning:

Registers close after 30 minutes, any pupils attending after that time are classed as unauthorised absence.

Fines for parents for taking children out of school: What you need to know

Every moment in school counts and days missed add up quickly. Evidence shows that pupils who have good attendance enjoy better wellbeing and school performance than those who don’t.

There are only a few circumstances where a child is allowed to miss school, such as illness or where the school has given permission because of an exceptional circumstance.

However, if your child misses school without a good reason, local councils and schools can intervene and you may be issued a fine.

We’re also introducing a new national framework which will mean all councils have the same rules in place for when they need to consider a fine. We explain more on this below.

It’s important to acknowledge that children with long-term medical or more serious mental health conditions, and those with special educational needs and disabilities may face additional barriers.

For children who face complex barriers to attendance, schools should have sensitive conversations with children and families and work with them to put support in place for their individual needs.

How much could I be fined if my child misses school?  

In the majority of cases, schools and local authorities will try and provide support to help you improve your child’s attendance first, but if this isn’t effective or the absence is for unauthorised term time holiday, parents may face paying a fine.

Currently, it’s the responsibility of the local authority to decide when to issue fines to parents, meaning the process varies from council to council.

However, under the new national framework, all schools will be required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons.

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.

This rate is in line with inflation and is the first increase since 2012.

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.

Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action like a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.

If you’re prosecuted and attend court because your child hasn’t been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500.

Money raised via fines is only used by the local authority to cover the costs of administering the system, and to fund attendance support. Any extra money is returned to the government.

To assist you with planning any holidays, please click here to view the Term Dates.

Exclusion is seen as a last resort after all other attempts to modify behaviour have failed. Exclusion serves several purposes, including:

Under exceptional circumstances, the headteacher may issue a fixed term or permanent exclusion. It is also possible for the headteacher to convert a fixed-term exclusion into a permanent exclusion, if the circumstances warrant this.

If the headteacher excludes a child, they will inform the parents immediately, giving reasons for the exclusion. Parents will be informed that they can appeal against the decision to the governing body. The headteacher will follow the LA guidelines and would inform the LA, and the EAB.

After an exclusion a reintegration meeting will take place with the pupil and parents, where a support plan will be agreed. We would expect to see an eradication of the problem behaviour at the point of the child returning to school. If not, the headteacher will consider permanently excluding the child. Permanent exclusion is very rare and is for violence and behaviour which puts children and or staff at risk. The clerk to governors receives a copy of the exclusion letter and an official exclusion form is sent to the LA. The EAB will be informed annually of the number and types of exclusions.

You can read our Behaviour policy on our Statutory Information page here.