The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John RC Primary
Attendance
At The Cathedral School of St Peter & St John, we believe that regular attendance is essential to every child’s education, wellbeing and success. Every school day provides valuable opportunities for children to learn, build friendships, develop confidence and take part in the life of our school.
We are committed to working closely with children and families to promote excellent attendance and to support any child who may experience difficulties attending school regularly.
Our attendance target is 96% or above, and we encourage every family to make attendance a priority. We understand that children can sometimes be unwell or face circumstances that affect their attendance, and we will always aim to work with families in a supportive and understanding way.
Good attendance is a shared responsibility. By working together, we can help every child make the most of their time at school and grow together within God’s loving family.
On this page, you will find information about our attendance expectations, reporting an absence, term-time holidays, persistent absence and the support available to families.
School Attendance Team
Mrs K Campbell - Headteacher
Mrs B Galea - Attendance Lead
Mrs A Bolton - Pastoral Support
We believe that regular attendance is essential to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn, achieve and thrive at school. We closely monitor attendance throughout the year and use attendance data to recognise pupils who have excellent attendance, celebrate improvements and identify children who may need additional support.
If your child is experiencing difficulties attending school regularly, please speak to us as soon as possible. We understand that there can be different reasons for absence and we are here to listen, offer support and work together with families to help improve attendance.
Working together, we can give every child the best possible opportunity to make the most of their time at school.
Absence Procedure
If your child is unable to attend school, please let the school office know before 8:30am on the first day of absence.
You can report an absence in either of the following ways:
- Via the Juniper App by submitting an absence notification.
- By contacting the school office directly.
Please provide the reason for your child's absence and, where possible, an indication of how long you expect them to be absent.
If your child remains unwell, please continue to update school each day. We ask that parents and carers contact us as early as possible so that we can accurately record attendance and ensure we know where all children are.
If we have not received a reason for absence, the school office will contact you to establish the reason for your child's non-attendance.
Holidays in term time
We understand that families may wish to take holidays together. However, holidays during term time will not be authorised by school.
If you believe there are exceptional circumstances that mean your child needs to be absent from school during term time, you must speak to the school office and request a Leave of Absence Request Form. This must be completed and returned to school before the absence is taken.
Parents and carers will also be required to meet with the Headteacher to discuss the circumstances of the request. Each request will be considered individually, taking into account the circumstances and the evidence provided.
Please do not make travel arrangements before speaking to school and completing the appropriate request process. Where an absence is taken without authorisation, it will be recorded as unauthorised absence and may result in a penalty notice being issued.
We ask all families to plan holidays during the school holiday periods wherever possible and to work with us to ensure that children have the opportunity to attend school regularly and make the most of their learning.
For more information regarding Fixed Penalty Notices please follow the link below
Classopoly - Rewarding attendance
At our school, we celebrate and encourage excellent attendance through our weekly Classopoly initiative.
Every Friday during assembly, classes that achieve 96% attendance or above earn a turn on the Classopoly board. This gives them the chance to win a range of fun and exciting rewards for their class.
Prizes can include:
- Crazy Hair Day
- Funky Sock Day
- Extra iPad time
- Golden Time
- Special treats such as milkshakes, chocolate and marshmallows
Classopoly has become a highlight of the week, helping to build a positive culture around attendance while giving pupils something to look forward to and enjoy together.
We are proud of the enthusiasm our pupils show and the teamwork within classes to achieve these goals.