Our dedicated senior leader with overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance is Mr G McRae (Headteacher)

Other staff in school who support attendance on a day to day basis are Mrs D Barber (SBM) and Mrs A Ward (Admin officer)

Staff who can provide support on attendance are Mr G McRae and Mrs S Dandy (Pastoral HLTA)

To view our Attendance Policy, please click here.

In 2013, the Government issued advice to schools instructing that NO extended absences can be authorised by school unless the circumstances are exceptional and extreme.

The Head can authorise holiday leave in exceptional circumstances only.

This must be agreed to before the holiday begins: This is NOT an entitlement and holidays taken in term time will adversely affect your child’s attendance record.

All pupils, who in exceptional circumstances, are granted holiday leave will be expected to make up work lost.

The Head will not authorise absence in the following circumstances:

• Shopping
• Birthdays
• Looking after other family members
• Waiting in for trades people
• Any holidays
• Unapproved sporting events
• Continued lateness to school
• Excessive absences without medical evidence

School has a duty to safeguard our children and the monitoring of attendance is a significant part of this.  If any parents or carers have a safeguarding concern, this should be reported to the school’s designated safeguarding lead, Mr McRae.

Click here to read more about Fixed Penalty Notices in Bury.

• First day of absence – First day phone call/text is Office staff are aware of the key children to look for, i.e. patterns of absences, regular absences etc and they inform me if the children are absent.
• On the second day office staff will ring the parent for an explanation of absence. (If holiday is suspected straight after a school break a phone call will be made on the afternoon of the first day) – often to detect an international dialing tone.
• If no contact has been made by day 3, a home visit will take place by the HT/FSW/SLT to check on the family and /or a Police welfare check may be requested.
• Any child absent from 3 days or more medical evidence is required in order to authorise days – this will be in the form of a medical appt card from doctors, hospital etc.
• If no response is received the absence is marked as N but will be changed to an O at the end of the
• Teachers are asked of any concerns – feedback to HT
• Attendance is officially monitored every fortnight. The HT sits with the SBM and goes through the last two weeks of absences for any child that is 92% or below. Also look at new children that have come on the list, look at the attendance summary for patterns of absences e.g. every Friday or patterns of days and check Integris for reasons for absences.
• Letters are sent to parents who are hitting 92% or below from the SBM along with a copy of the child’s absence pattern. If this doesn’t improve, parents are invited to attend a meeting in school to discuss the absences with the class teacher and the Headteacher/DHT. Any parent that doesn’t attend the meeting is placed on the CPOMs database. Further meetings with the HT will be requested if attendance does not improve. Medical evidence letters will be sent following these meetings.
• Fines are sent for holidays/absences taken for 5 days or over – no For parents attending weddings abroad the original invitation is requested, and 3 days will be given (a day to travel, a day for the funeral and a day to return) as authorised any extra days will be unauthorised. For funerals copies of the death certificate/autopsy reports are required in order to authorise a day’s absence. Again if abroad only 3 days will be authorised.
• For parents evening teachers are given the attendance list which is highlighted by the HT. Teachers speak to parents regarding their attendance. Pupil meetings are arranged in November where their attendance is colour coded and spoken about. Attendance is also placed on the school reports highlighting overall attendance along with authorised and unauthorised days.

Coding is strictly adhered to. The registers close at 9.05 am and anyone entering the school between 8.45 and 9.05am are market as L (late). Anyone coming into school after 9.05 am are marked are a U (unauthorised late). 5 of these lates the parent will receive a “late” letter from the EWO/SBM and HT will speak to the parents directly.

I is marked for illness
N is marked for no reason for absence
O is marked as unauthorized absence
G is unauthorized holiday
P is approved sporting activity (proof of this is required)

• We celebrate the class with the best attendance each week and they are awarded a certificate and an extra playtime as a reward.
• We have a celebratory assembly on last day of school and children who have received 100% attendance for the year will receive a badge. Stickers are also given to children who have 99 – 97% attendance also.
• We have an attendance policy
• An action plan for attendance is in We monitor vulnerable groups.

Our Attendance Procedures 

We value and recognise the importance of good attendance and have systems and processes in place to make sure attendance in managed effectively for all children. We regularly analyse attendance data to identify pupils who have consistently high attendance, those who have shown improvements in their attendance and to identify pupils who may be vulnerable. We will provide support for those who may have lower rates of attendance and again I ask that you work with school if you have any issues with your child being able to attend school regularly. We are always here to support.

School attendance is a vital foundation for children’s success. It is more than just being present—it is about creating opportunities for academic achievement, personal growth, and a brighter future. Each day in school matters and can have a lasting impact. Visit The Importance of Attendance page to learn more about attendance across our Trust.