As you will be aware, attendance has always been a high priority in schools and has had a stronger emphasis from the Department for Education in the last year. Firstly, I’d like to thank you for your support in ensuring that we have a good level of attendance here at Rosehill School. Children at our school currently have better attendance than the national average which is really encouraging.

We have recently updated our Attendance Policy, which can be accessed via our school website https://www.therosehillschool.com/attendance-of-pupils/

I am writing to you to ensure you are fully aware of these updates and the importance of attendance as well as your requirements as a parent/ carer.

At Rosehill School, we are committed to promoting good attendance which is essential for pupils to achieve their potential. Lack of attendance is directly correlated to a pupil’s deteriorating success and development in their education.

We know that as parents and carers you want the best for your child, and this is why it is imperative all pupils at Rosehill School adhere to our Attendance Policy.

As a parent or carer, you have a legal requirement to ensure your child attends school on a regular basis. Therefore, you hold the responsibility to promote good attendance.

We do understand there are times when children will need to be absent from school for a number of reasons, for example for sickness or ill health.

If your child needs to attend a medical appointment during school time, please provide a copy of the appointment letter to the school office.

We ask all parents and carers to follow our absence procedure in order to grant authorised absence. Information regarding this can be found in our school policy.

If your child is absent, you are required to contact the school as soon as possible on the first day of absence.

Any parent or carer who has not reported their child as absent will be contacted by the school by phone, email or text message. Failure to follow this procedure may result in the child receiving an unauthorised absence and could lead to us informing the Educational Welfare Officer for the Local Authority.

From the 19th August 2024, The Department for Education bought in new statutory attendance guidance. One of the key changes in the Department for Education’s policy is that there will be an increase in the fine and a significant increase for subsequent offences.