Attendance
Why It Matters
At Esh Winning Academy we recognise the importance of being in school, on time, every day.
Every second in school counts, as missing school, whether by being late or taking unnecessary days off, creates more new learning gaps which need to be addressed. The best way you can support your child to recover from the lost school time of recent years is to ensure they are in school and ready to learn every day.
We want every child's attendance to be good or better. This means 96% +
Please do not take your child out of school during term time as it disrupts your child’s learning and you risk financial penalties. Any term time leave of absence must be applied for more than 2 weeks before the date of leave and can only be authorised by the Headteacher in the case of EXCEPTIONAL circumstances. Please could we urge parents to book holidays during the 13 weeks of annual school holidays which are available each year.
Did you know that an attendance percentage of 90% is equivalent to missing 19 school days a year? If your child has 90% attendance, they will have the equivalent of half a day off per week, which adds up to 247 days off over their full school career. This equals one full school year of lost education.
If your child is not in school regularly, they will miss out on fundamental learning in the classroom. This is extremely difficult to catch up on and affects all aspects of their future education, as well as forming bad habits.
As part of our ongoing support system for children and families, you will receive regular updates on your child’s attendance via the Arbor app as well as correspondence if attendance falls below average.
For further information, please refer to Guidance on Infection Control from the Public Health agency to determine if and for how long your child must stay off school. You can also download the Healthier Together App.
If you have any questions about attendance please pop into the office or give us a call. We're here to help.
You can report a pupil absence by telephoning 0191 373 4701 - press option 1.
What You Can Do
We understand that children will need time off school when they are poorly.
However, you can avoid attendance becoming a concern by engaging with school and not taking unnecessary days off e.g. holidays during term time. Trying to make appointments for your child, and other family members, out of school hours will reduce time missed in classroom. This will make less of an impact on their school life.
You may not realise how quickly the odd day off can lead to a big dip in attendance percentage, indicating to school and other agencies that there may be problems to address.
If your child is not in school regularly, they will miss out on fundamental learning in the classroom. This is extremely difficult to catch up on and affects all aspects of their future education, as well as forming bad habits.
If your child is unable to attend school because they are ill, then please contact school to let us know. If you do not inform school then school will need to make a home visit.
If you are attending an appointment and it can’t be rearranged or out of school time, please show the office your appointment card/text and your absence will be authorised.
Punctuality is just as important as attendance. If your child has 100% attendance but regularly arrives up to half an hour late, they are still missing vital learning.
If you are late, an adult must come into school and sign them in.
As part of our on-going support system for children and their families you will receive regular updates on your child’s attendance with a strong focus on how it affects their learning.
Most importantly we have an open-door policy. If you have ANY queries or would like support on any matter, we have a great welfare team who can provide referrals or advice.
Attendance and Welfare Team
Miss Burns Senior Attendance Champion, Senior Mental Health Lead and DSL
Mrs Bates Parent Support Advisor
Mrs McManus Admin Team
Mrs Hodgson Head teacher and Designated Safeguard Lead
What School Will Do
Daily
- First and foremost, provide a warm and welcoming environment for children to thrive in.
- A whole-school team on hand and ready to support in getting the children into school.
- First call response – this is a system which contacts parents and carers if there is any uncertainty surrounding a child’s absence.
Weekly
- Weekly messages via the Arbor app, emails or text messages updating the percentage of attendance for every child.
- Weekly Winoploy game which all children of statutory age are involved in.
- Attendance based assemblies where we reward cohorts of children with the highest, most improved or excellent attendance.
- Best class attendance in each key stage receives the Attendance Trophy for the week and a treat.
- Weekly display amended to reflect attendance of each cohort and whole school data.
Half Termly
- Attendance reviewed for all children and letters sent out to highlight any concerns or an invite into school to have a support meeting.
- Attendance review meetings held with parents and carers for any concerning patterns of attendance which is then monitored over a 4-week period.
- Liaise with the local authority to review any patterns of poor attendance
Termly
- Gold 100% certificates
- Silver 98-99% certificates
- Bronze 97-98% certificates
Annually
- A special treat for children with 100% for the year and children who have had year on year attendance at 100%
- Formally report to parents a breakdown of attendance over the year.
In addition, our processes may involve making visits to the home if: -
- There is a failure to provide a reason for absence
- Your child is absent for 3 days or longer without contact
Essentially, we work with families to overcome any barriers or challenges to ensuring excellent attendance. This is on a bespoke level and differs from family to family.
Child-friendly Attendance Guide 2026
Esh Winning Academy Booklet 1 - Attendance, Holidays and Planned Absence
Esh Winning Academy Booklet 3 - What happens if my child does not have good attendance_
Esh Winning Academy Booklet 4 - Understanding the Law on School Attendance