Attendance and Belonging at Glebe

At Glebe, good attendance matters!  Students who have good attendance at school are able flourish socially, emotionally and intellectually to enable an inner confidence to grow.  This is a successful school and all students, and parents, play their part in making it so.  We aim for an environment which enables and encourages all members of the community to be proud to belong and to achieve their best.  For our students to gain the greatest benefit from their education, it is essential that they attend regularly and arrive on time every morning, unless there the reason for absence is unavoidable.   

Regular attendance at school is of critical importance to a child’s long term education.  Evidence shows that pupils with the highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 (end of Primary school) and key stage 4 (end of Secondary school) have the highest levels of attendance.  Any absence affects the pattern of a student’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect learning over the long term.

Working Together to Support Attendance at Glebe

Please do not hestitate to contact the school if you have any concerns with regards to attendance or if you experience problems getting your child into school.  At Glebe, we are here to help support parents and carers and we work together with you to remove attendance barriers.  

How Frequent Absence Affects Your Child:

• Children who are often absent or late for school miss vital information. This can lead to not knowing or understanding their class work. 

• Children can begin to feel left out. 

• Children can easily get left behind in their learning. 

• Children can miss out on social time with their friends in the playground and may have to rebuild friendship groups. 

• With extended or repeated absence and lateness, children begin to lose confidence as learners. 

• Children can begin to lose confidence in themselves.     

Tips and Suggestions to Support Attendance

TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR PARENTS - Experiencing problems getting to school on time?

• Ensure children go to bed at a reasonable time. Primary school aged children should have more than ten hours of sleep per night. They need to be in bed by about 8.30pm at the latest.
• Turn all devices off and remove an hour before bed time e.g. tablets, mobile phones and other screens. The brain needs time to switch off.
• Do not eat for at least two hours before bedtime to give the body time to digest fully.
• Establish a calming and settling bed time routine, with a warm shower or bath, gentle music or a story or reading time.
• Make sure everything is ready the night before e.g. uniform laid out, packed lunches made, bags packed, school shoes and coat by the door.
• Make sure there is time for a good breakfast in the morning. Food is needed to nourish children and give then energy for the morning.
• Set off early enough to miss the traffic. Gates to school open at 8.25am, at least five minutes before the classroom doors open at around 8.30am. This will give them time to chat to friends before school too, which can be settling.

Please contact the Office for more support on attendance or lateness on 01273 592163 or email office@glebeprimary.co.uk 

Attendance Policy and Useful Information

All schools are legally obliged to work with the Govenment legal framework on attendance outlined in the Education Act 1996 as set out in the Department of Education Guidance Safeguarding Keeping Children Safe in Education and 2024 Working Together to Improve School Attenance  (applies from 19 August 2024). 

The following information is useful:

Glebe's Full Attendance Policy and Procedures:  Please click the following link to read Glebe's Attendance Policy and Procedures & for a shorter, 2 page document, clearly outlining the Attendance Procedure Only 

Leave of Absence Form:  LEAVE OF ABSENCE REQUEST FORM

Fixed Penalty Notices: Information Leaflet from West Sussex County Council "A Brief Guide to Fixed Penalty Notices" FPN Leaflet - Aug 2024