Head of Primary Blog- Attendance Matters

Sometimes it feels like ages until we have our holidays from school, other times we seem to lots of holidays but the time we spend at school has a huge impact on how much formal education we have and how successful we are in reaching our goals.

In March 2016 the Department for Education (DfE) published a *report on the link between absence and
attainment in Key Stages 2 and 4. The findings for both Key Stages show that in general, the higher the
absence rate, the lower the likely level of attainment.
Not only does absenteeism affect the levels of attainment it also has emotional impact as children miss out
on the social side of school life. Poor attendance can affect children’s ability to make and keep friendships,
which of course is a vital part of growing up and supports positive emotional health.
Setting good attendance patterns from an early age, from nursery through primary school and into
secondary school can also help your child later on in their life. Children who have a poor school attendance
record may have difficulty in finding the discipline required in their working life.
Punctuality is also very important. Arriving late at school can be very disruptive for your child, their teacher
and the other children in the class. I have seen some children show obvious anxiety when they are coming
into a classroom late. Imagine you are a nervous person and are late attending an event? It can be very
daunting to enter a room after everyone else has arrived. When children are anxious it triggers their flight
or fight mode and they are not in a positive mental state to make the most of their learning, in fact for
some children this increased level of anxiety can have more serious long term effects on their education.
Just being late 10 minutes every day equates to 50 minutes per week which is 1 ½ weeks per year and this
does not allow for the time it takes to be in the right mental state to effectively learn.
Regular school attendance and good punctuality really does prepare children for later life when they need
to get to work on time, catch public transport or flights or arrive at the theatre, concerts or cinema.
Children who arrive on time are happier, less anxious and ready to learn.

* https://www.gov.uk/government/news/just-one-day-off-can-hamper-childrens-life-chances