Dear Parents and Carers,

 

We hope you have had a lovely week. We have had a great one. The sunshine has enabled us to enjoy OPAL. I went out into the playground this week and was impressed to see the children building dens and hideaways. They were working together incredibly well.

 

Please remember to sync your calendar with the school calendar on the website. That is where we post our dates, so if you don't sync yours, you will need to keep checking the website calendar.

 

I would like to remind you not to stand by the entrance in the mornings and to come in at the correct times. It is 8:50 for Years 3, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and 8:55 for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. We also ask adults not to use mobile phones on school grounds, including the Reception area. Please can you pass this information on to anyone else who drops off on your behalf.

 

Thank you to those of you who have volunteered to be class reps this year. Your help is greatly appreciated. We still need one for Ocean and Aqua. If you'd like to volunteer, please let me know. As a thank you, you can come in and have a school lunch with your child.

 

Over the last few years, there have been many national discussions about children attending school and the impact of absence on a child’s development and academic achievement. A child who attends school every day for the whole year is awarded 100%, and we celebrate this at the end of the academic year. However, we know that most children, at some point, will have a minor illness. At our school, the attendance target is 97%. You can find your child's attendance figure on Arbor, so please keep checking. 

 

Here are some facts about attendance -

90% attendance during 1 school year = ½ day missed every week.
90% attendance during 1 school year = 1 day missed every other week.
90% attendance during 1 school year = 4 whole weeks of lessons missed.
90% attendance over 5 years of school = ½ a school year missed.

 

Statistics show a direct link between under-achievement and absence below 95%.

• Regular attenders make better progress, both socially and academically.

• Regular attenders find school routines, school work and friendships easier to cope with.

• Regular attenders find learning more satisfying.

• Regular attenders are more successful in transferring between primary school, secondary school, and higher education, employment or training.

 

We would also really appreciate it if your child arrived on time in the morning and was picked up on time in the afternoon. It can be unsettling for the child if they are dropped off late and have to wait to be collected. Thanks for your support with this.

 

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher