Attendance - Supporting our children's learning

Attendance: Our Home and School Partnership

At Denby Free, we believe that regular attendance is vital for every child to learn, thrive, and achieve their best. We are proud that our pupils tell us they enjoy coming to school!

We are committed to working in partnership with you to ensure your child's attendance is as good as possible, as there is a clear link between attendance and achievement.

Our Goal for Excellent Attendance

Our expectation is for all pupils to achieve 95% attendance and above. This gives your child the best chance to succeed academically and socially.

Sickness Absence

We understand that children will occasionally be unwell. If your child is unable to attend school due to illness, please contact the school before the start of the day to let us know.

If absence due to illness becomes prolonged or frequent, the Head will contact you to discuss the situation and offer appropriate support.

Requests for Absence

Absences can only be authorised under exceptional circumstances.

• Government legislation does not permit schools to authorise absence for family holidays.

• If you need to request an absence due to an exceptional circumstance, please contact the school in advance to discuss this, as we cannot authorise absences retrospectively.

• Absence for an unacceptable or unexplained reason will be recorded as unauthorised.

Why Every Day Matters

When a child misses school, they miss valuable lessons and social time, which can impact their learning progress.

• Missing just 1 day of school means approximately 5 hours of lessons are missed.

• Missing 1 week means approximately 25 hours of lessons are missed.

If you have any concerns about your child's attendance, please contact the Head directly. We welcome the opportunity to discuss positive ways forward together to support your child's education.