St Jude's Church of England Primary School Blog

Regular school attendance - why it's so important

Going to school regularly is important for your child's future. For example, children who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well in assessments.

Good attendance shows potential employers that your child is reliable. Research suggests that children who attend school regularly could also be at less risk of getting involved in antisocial behaviour or crime.

All schools are required to record details of pupils’ attendance and absence at school. They do so at the beginning of morning and afternoon sessions. If your child is absent, it is required that you inform the school the reason for the absence.

The school will record the absence under a particular category preset by the Department of Education (DE). This data is then available to the Education Welfare Service (EWS) for each pupil. By law, all children of compulsory school age (normally four to 16) must receive a suitable full-time education. For most parents, this means registering their child at a school - though some choose to make other arrangements to provide a suitable, full-time education.

Once your child is registered at a school, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend regularly.  If your child fails to do so, you risk getting a fine or being prosecuted.

Preventing your child from missing school: what you can do

You can help prevent your child missing valuable school time by:

• making sure they understand the importance of good attendance and punctuality
• taking an interest in their education - ask about school work and encourage them to get involved in school activities
• discussing any problems they may have at school – inform their teacher or Principal about anything serious
• not letting them take time off school for minor ailments - particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work

Arranging appointments and outings after school hours, at weekends or during school holidays will help to prevent disruption to your child's education and to the school. Under normal circumstances you should not expect the school to agree to your child going on holiday during term time.