Attendance at Great Corby School and Nursery
At Great Corby School and Nursery, we believe that good attendance is the foundation for every child to reach their full potential; this starts with ensuring they are in school, engaged, and ready to learn
Expect The Best
At Great Corby, we have high expectations for attendance and punctuality. We firmly believe that every child has a right to a full-time education, and we work tirelessly to cultivate a culture where all pupils and parents understand the importance of regular school attendance. We strive to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where all children feel safe, supported, and eager to come to school.
Monitor & Understand
We closely monitor attendance data to identify any patterns or concerns as early as possible. When an issue arises, we take the time to listen to our pupils and parents, understanding the unique barriers they may be facing, whether at home or in school. By working collaboratively with families, we can develop tailored solutions to remove these barriers and get children back on track.
Support
As a school, we are committed to providing the support and resources needed to overcome attendance challenges. This may involve early help plans, working with external agencies, or formalising attendance contracts to ensure families receive the assistance they require. Importantly, we recognise that attendance cannot be viewed in isolation and work closely with our partners to address wider issues that may be impacting a child’s ability to attend school regularly
Enforce Attendance
As a last resort, we will not hesitate to take formal action to protect a child’s right to education. This could include issuing penalty notices or pursuing prosecution, but only after exhausting all other avenues of support and engagement. Our aim is always to work with families, not against them, to ensure every child at Great Corby School has the opportunity to thrive.
Fixed Penalty Notices
Penalty Notices are a direct alternative to prosecution.
Penalty Notices cover both general unauthorised absences and where a family has taken a holiday in term time. Pupils who miss 10 sessions (5 school days) in a 10-week period will be considered for a penalty notice as per National Framework launched on 19th August 2024. Penalty Notices can also cover both those scenarios at the same time for particular pupils and families i.e., generalised poor attendance and a holiday in term time.
The first penalty notice issued to a parent in respect of a particular pupil will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.
Reporting an absence:
There are several ways a parent or carer can inform us of absence by 9 am on each day of absence:
by telephone, where Mrs Walsh records this information and communicates it to the teachers;
by email to admin@gtcorby.cumbria.sch.uk;
by using the messaging service via Parents App;
by personal contact (face to face when dropping siblings at school).
If we don't hear from you:
For safeguarding reasons, it really is vital that you let us know why your child is absent from school. There have been serious case reviews showing how absence from school can impact on the safety of a child, and this highlights the importance of organisations like schools knowing that children are safe and well.
If we don't hear from parents we will:
attempt to make contact by phone.
visit the child's home to make sure they are safe.
It is therefore essential that we hold up-to-date contact details. If you change your phone number or address, please let us know immediately.
Term-time absences:
Absences due to illness are unavoidable in most cases, and we know that you make every effort to get your children to school on time, each day - There are also times when a child is ill in school and we have to ask you to pick them up early. And, of course, the '48-hour rule' applies when pupils are physically sick. See this page on the government's website for information about whether you should keep your child off school.
Please click HERE
We all know that the occasional headache or tummy ache can often soon disappear when children get into class with their friends.
But there's no getting away from the fact that good attendance and punctuality is vital to good progress. This page explains school's position in this area, and our official duties and responsibilities to the Department for Education (DfE).
In line with Government and Local Authority policy, any holidays should not be taken in school time as this would be recorded as an unauthorised absence. Our school is accountable to the DfE and Cumberland LA for attendance.
Holidays in term-time are the main reason for lower attendance, and Cumberland LA ask schools to refer absences to them for the issuing of a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). We use guidance for 'exceptional circumstances' when making a decision about what is deemed authorised or unauthorised - and our reasons are closely monitored and scrutinised. We have authorised a number of days off due to exceptional circumstances (e.g. day of wedding or funeral, religious celebration etc.) but most do not fall under this category and have to be designated as unauthorised.
