Attendance
Attendance and punctuality are integral to the educational success of our pupils. At Our Lady and St Joseph’s, we believe it is crucial for children to be in school and engaged in their learning as much as possible. Those with outstanding attendance are afforded the opportunity to fully engage in the learning experiences, events, and activities that we provide.
Our Attendance target is 96% for all pupils and this is something we aspire to for every pupil in our care.
It is important to note that if a child's attendance falls below 92%, we may reach out for support from our Attendance Lead, who is part of Rotherham Early Help services.
We do understand that absences may occasionally be necessary and we kindly request that parents and carers inform the school by 9am if their child is unable to attend, giving a reason. This helps us to keep accurate records and ensure the wellbeing of every child.
For further information, please refer to this NHS GUIDANCE on whether to send your child into school
Punctuality
Equally significant is the matter of punctuality. Arriving on time is essential for your child's learning. Each school day begins with a morning task, such as handwriting or spelling; therefore, arriving after 8.30am results in missed vital learning opportunities. The formal learning session commences promptly at 8.45am. Arrivals after this time can mean missing critical instruction and key points necessary for the remainder of the lesson; this can be detrimental to children’s overall learning experience.
To illustrate the impact of lateness, we would like to highlight that just 10 minutes late each day amounts to an entire day of missed learning over the course of the academic year.
School attendance matters pathway (samp)
As a Rotherham school, we adhere to the Rotherham SAMP (School Attendance Matters Pathway) to support our commitment to high standards of attendance and learning. Further information can be found HERE
For further information, the most recent guidance from the Department for Education regarding attendance in schools is available HERE