At Mapplewell Primary School we recognise the importance good attendance has on pupils education and well-being. From the off set of 2024 / 2025 we are focusing again on further improving attendance across school.
In line with the new Working together to improve school attendance guidance we aim to take a "support first" approach to building relationships between school, local government and families.
We know that through home / school partnership we can meet our target of 97%
We are in this together...
We truly believe in the partnership between home and school. Let’s work together to ensure school is a happy experience for all and that children leave school each day with beaming smiles and come running back in the following morning with energy and enthusiasm to learn more!
What are we doing to help...
Over the summer holidays teachers have been working hard preparing engaging lessons to excite your child in their learning when they return to school in September.
Class Twitter pages have been set up for you to follow and see the learning taking place each day.
PSHE will continue to be prioritised in all classrooms, allowing opportunities for pupils to reflect, talk and enhance their own well-being.
We work in partnership with Compass Be to provide a whole school approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing. Mrs Clarke is our designated Mental Health First Aider / Mental Health and Wellbeing Champion in school.
Our Senior Attendance Champion is Mr Garrood.
Staff at Mapplewell plan to continue to build positive relations with families and will be available each day for a quick chat or arrange a time for a more formal meeting.
What can you do to help at home?
Talk to your child each evening about:
What they have learnt in school.
What friends have they made, who did they play with.
What new skills / knowledge they have learnt and how can they apply this.
How are they feeling and why.
Why it is important to come to school and what opportunities they have in life.
We will continue to celebrate excellent attendance at Mapplewell Primary by offering rewards and prizes to all children achieving 97% + each term. This includes our recognition of children with medical conditions.
Make sure your child knows when bedtime is and stick to it.
Establish a bedtime routine and include story time!
Set an alarm and give yourselves plenty of time to get organised and ready for the day - routine and organisation is the key to positive mornings.
Have breakfast! Statistics show that by having breakfast each morning it can help improve your memory and boost concentration.
Talk to your child about school expectations.
Be punctual, every minute at school counts!
Work with us - teamwork makes the dream work! We are always happy to support accordingly with ensuring you have positive routines to create calm and happy environments to support you and your family before and after school.
Family Hubs is a great resource for all parents seeking additional support, parenting guidance and confidence.
https://barnsley.cloud.servelec-synergy.com/Synergy/
Achieving 97%
We recognise that sometimes days off are out of our hands and that children do get ill, we therefore want to celebrate 97% attendance on a termly basis.
Every child who has achieved 97%+ attendance by the end of each term will have the opportunity to choose a prize from our Attendance Prize Shop.
Children will also receive a certificate for achieving 97% attendance or more.
100% Attendance
Children who achieve 100% attendance can choose a prize at the end of each term.
Children will also receive a certificate to celebrate their 100% attendance.
Children who have 100% attendance all year will receive a £10 Amazon voucher at the end of Summer Term, plus a share bag of sweets... yummy!
If your child is ill, please take them to a doctor and obtain a medical appointment card so we can update your records as early and accurately as possible. Additionally show a member of our Office Team your text message for them to approve the appointment.
You should make contact with school every day so we can update our records on a daily basis. Please contact the school office before 9am if your child is going to be absent from school that day.
Sometimes your child can feel mildly under the weather but they are actually well enough to attend school. If this is the case and your child deteriorates throughout the day, then you will be contacted immediately.
Leave of absence for holidays during term time will NOT be authorised.
A leave of absence request form MUST be completed. These can be collected from the school office.
Whilst your child is on holiday, their classmates are still learning. Statistics have shown that holidays during term time can reduce your child's academic progress.
Penalty notices WILL be issued. If these are not paid then court proceedings will take place in line with our school attendance policy. This is in line with the statutory DFE guidance Working together to improve school attendance and the HCAT Attendance and Punctuality policy. For further information see the Mapplewell Primary School website.
Children only attend school for 190 Days out of 365 this leaves 175 days for holiday, shopping and other activities.
Please book holidays and days out in these 175 days.
Support
At Mapplewell we recognise that sometimes it can be difficult to get children to school and on time. We have an excellent staff team who are always there to support where required.
If you would like guidance, support or a general chat about attendance please see Mrs Clarke our Learning Mentor who will happily support.