At Waterhouses C.E. Primary Academy, excellent attendance and punctuality help every child to succeed and achieve more. We encourage all pupils to be in school, on time, every day so they can enjoy learning and achieve their best. Working together with families, we aim to create positive habits that support wellbeing, progress, and a strong start to each school day.
If your child is unwell
Of course, sometimes children are too unwell for school. If a child has vomited or experienced diarrhoea, they should not attend school for the next 48hours to allow them to recover and to prevent this passing amongst others in the school. If your child is too unwell for school, please contact the school office by 9.30am on the first day of absence.
Medical appointments
We request that absences for medical appointments are made outside of school hours where possible. However, we also understand that sometimes this is not possible. In some circumstances, it is possible that school may request evidence of appointments.
A child's attendance at 90% = the equivalent of almost four weeks’ worth of learning lost per year.
A child with an attendance of 85% over the course of their time at primary school = the equivalent to them missing approximately a whole year of education.
Being late by 10minutes each day = 50 minutes of lost learning per week; or a week’s worth of learning over the course of a school year.
Here at Waterhouses C.E. Primary Academy, we are proud to work with Staffordshire Local Authority to implement and support their Little HEROES (Here Everyday Ready On time) scheme to encourage children to be in school every day (when they are well enough) and to be on time. Being in school every day and on time provides children with the best chance to develop as young learners and allows them to access the curriculum in school.
Being a few minutes late can cause upset for children as they are walking into lessons when they have already begun which may mean that they have missed key teaching and they also miss the social element of greeting friends first thing in the morning.
Children should be in education every day unless they are unwell, have a medical appointment, or they have an approved leave of absence for exceptional circumstances.
Leave of absence
School are unable to approve any leave of absence unless in exceptional circumstances. Should parents/ carers wish to apply for a leave of absence from school, they should contact the school office to submit the request in writing on the correct form at least one month before the scheduled date.
Attendance Policy
Our attendance policy outlines the process for attendance and punctuality and the steps which school take in relation to challenges with attendance, absence and punctuality to support children accessing their learning. The Local Authority Education Welfare team have access to our school attendance registers and will become involved in situation where attendance or punctuality becomes a concern. You can read our attendance policy on our policies page.
Our attendance is monitored regularly and our school attendance champion is Mrs H. Duffield.
97.6%
Our school attendance from 03.09.2025 to 17.07.2026.