School Every day at WPS

.Please click on the blue link to read our leaflet about supporting school attendance.

WPS Supporting Attendance Leaflet 2022-23 -  click here

The entire staff community at WPS recognises the significance of good attendance and punctuality to give the children the best chances in life.

In order to achieve high levels of attendance and punctuality we will continue to:  

• Offer a safe, trusting and supportive environment, which welcomes all our children and families.
• Foster a climate where the school community, teachers, parents and carers, and children value attendance and punctuality
• Ensure any child presenting poor levels of attendance and punctuality are monitored, supported and appropriate action taken when necessary
• Have systems in place offering rewards and incentives for good attendance and punctuality
• Keep parents and carers informed about their child’s attendance through established procedures
• Work in partnerships with parents and carers, the Education Welfare Service, Social Services and other outside agencies

Parents and carers can help us to achieve high expectations of 100% attendance by ensuring:

• Children attend regularly and on time
• Children are prepared adequately for the school day
• School is informed of any concerns which could impact on their child’s learning 
• Medical appointments are arranged outside of school hours when possible

Authorised Absence

          Absence may be authorised for the following reasons:

• Sickness
• Religious Observance in accordance with Local Authority guidelines
• Medical or Dental appointments which cannot be arranged outside of school hours. Where possible parents and carers should try to arrange these appointments outside of school hours
• Extenuationg circumstances (authorised by the Headteacher)
• From the 1st September 2013, the new law gives no entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time. Any application for leave must only be in exceptional circumstances and the Head Teacher must be satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional and warrant the granting of leave. Headteachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional.

Unauthorised Absences

          Absences may be recorded as unauthorised for the following reasons:

• Late after registration is closed (unless the parent provides a legitimate reason or evidence for the absence)
• Any absence which the school has not been informed about, either by letter or telephone
• Any family holiday that has not been authorised by the Headteacher.

Our Approach to Promoting Good Attendance and Punctuality

• Friday celebration assembly – recognising children displaying WPS values and good attendance and achieving 100%
• Attendance display in the foyer tracking and celebrating attendance of year groups and staff
• At the end of every term assembly, every child achieving 100% receives a certificate.
• Attendance displays are clearly visible throughout the school promoting children achieving good attendance.
• Availability of the Pastoral Team, Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team to support families struggling with attendance concerns

Attending school everyday will help give our child the best possible start in life.

Going to school every day means :

• Learning new skills
• Making friends
• Having lots of fun
• Building new relationships
• Taking part in exciting activities  

Regular attendance ensures children have the biggest chance to succeed, develop their confidence and to make and keep lasting friendships.

 WPS Attendance concern escalation procedure

• Our escalation process is a multi - agency approach of "monitoring, support, encouragement and challenge" 
• Children are encouraged and supported to achieve best attendance
• Mrs Graham is our astoral support lead for attendance
• attendance is monitored on a daily basis for first day response to absences 
• Staff can refer children to Mrs Graham at any time
• Mrs Graham and Mrs Ngenda have regular discussions about priority children
• Mrs Ngenda and MissO'Connor have regular update meetings  
• EWO - Ms Carol Burleigh attends school on a weekly basis to take referrals, make home visits and follow up concerns
• Further support is then accessed as necessary, particularly through the Family Support Service.
• Family meetings with our EWO, and attendance action plans are implemented
•  If an improvement cannot be secured and attendance concerns remain, the EWO may also make a recommendation of further action for a penalty notice or court action.

Autumn Term 

November is WPS Attendance Awareness Month

Please see the flyer below for further information on special activities taking place during November. 

Our Monday and Friday Attendance Challenge

We have recently introduced a new range of activities to reward and support good attendance at WPS. When we noticed our attendance was regulary dipping below our 97% target on Mondays and Friday  we introduced two  class challenges for both these days.

The Monday Morning 100% Challenge

When a class achieves 100% attendance on a Monday our special attendance trophy is sent to their class, they also work their way through a set of reward activities from bronze to silver and gold. 

The Friday Surprise

Classes achieving 100% attendance on Friday receive the Friday surprise on a Friday afternoon.  Our School Council thought of lots of ideas for surprises and the surprise is different each week. Classes record the date and their surprise on a special chart in their classroom.

We will tell you which classes have achieved these awards in the attendance section of our weekly newsletter.