Attendance

At Grand Avenue Primary and Nursery School, we prioritise good attendance and strive to support and motivate pupils to achieve maximum attendance. We aim to foster positive and effective relationships with parents and carers.

We believe that children learn most effectively when their attendance is consistently high (ideally above 97%) and when absences are minimal, ensuring a continuous learning experience. Strong partnerships between the school and parents/carers can further enhance children’s attendance.

Our Home/School Agreement emphasises the importance of good attendance and punctuality. Attendance records are maintained centrally on our SIMS system, which tracks the percentage of sessions attended by each child. This data allows us to analyse attendance patterns and identify any questions regarding absence or punctuality. We actively encourage good attendance and collaborate with parents and external agencies to provide support where needed.

Parents hold the primary responsibility for making sure their children attend school regularly. Schools, in turn, are responsible for supporting attendance and addressing any issues that may cause absences. Parents should ensure that their children arrive at school on time, dressed appropriately, and ready to learn.

Punctuality

Parents/carers are to ensure that their child(ren) arrive at school in time for registration and are collected promptly at the end of the school day.

Timings for the school day are below:

Year group	School open from	Register	Collection
Reception	8.45am	8.55am	3.05pm
Year 1	8.30am	8.55am	3.05pm
Year 2	8.30am	8.55am	3.05pm
Year 3	8.30am	8.45am	3.10pm
Year 4	8.30am	8.45am	3.20pm
Year 5	8.30am	8.45am	3.15pm
Year 6	8.30am	8.45am	3.15pm

Children arriving after these registration times need to report to the office and be signed in.

Concerns Around Attendance and Punctuality

Absence below 90%, no matter the reason, is termed persistent absence by the Department for Education and does considerable damage to any child's short and longer term educational prospects.

We acknowledge that a poor attendance/lateness record or pattern can give a cause for concern and involve the Designated Safeguarding Lead and/or Education Welfare Officer in such cases. Absence rates and punctuality are carefully and closely monitored by the school’s Attendance Officer. Should a problem persist, the school seeks the support of our Educational Welfare Officer. Parents are asked to work alongside the school and Educational Welfare Officer regarding concerns with attendance and punctuality.

For queries regarding attendance and punctuality parents are asked to contact the Deputy Head by telephone or via email (0208 399 5344 or office@grandavenue.kingston.sch.uk )