St. John's children deserve the best!Every day counts.
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95% = 10 days absence a year – Good attendance! These young people are likely to achieve good outcomes and have good future prospects. But, they still need to improve their attendance.
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90% = 19 days absence a year - Children who are missing this much time off will be absent for almost 1 month per school year, making it very difficult for them to achieve their best. This is a real concern for us!
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85% = 29 days absence a year - Children missing this much time off will be absent for almost 6 weeks per school year, making it extremely difficult for them to keep up with their work. These children are very unlikely to achieve their best and are likely to experience poor self-esteem because they are getting behind their peers.
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80% = 38 days absence a year - Children who are constantly missing this much time off will be absent for almost 1 ½ full years over the 7 years of primary education, making it impossible to keep up with work and dramatically limiting future prospects. Not acceptable, unless genuine health reasons impact on positive attendance. |
Click here for our Term Dates page
What time do the children start and finish?
Start of the school day:
Reception/Class 1/Class 2: Gates open at 8.40am. Registration starts at 8.40am and closes at 9:00am. Any child arriving after this will be marked as late. If you arrive after 9am you will need to sign your child in at the school office.
Class 3/4/5/6: Gates open at 8.45am. Registration starts at 8.45am and closes at 9:00am. Any child arriving after this will be marked as late. If you arrive after 9am you will need to sign your child in at the school office.
End of the school day:
Reception/Class 1/Class 2: Finish time 3.10pm
Class 3/4/5/6:Finish time 3.15pm
Our school day for each Key Stage is 6 hours and 30 minutes per day. Totaling 32.5 hours per week.
Please collect Class 2-6 children from the main playground.
What if my child is absent from school?
Authorised Absences
All parents are asked to contact the school as soon as possible on 01253 807495 or via; email Admin@st-john.blackpool.sch.uk, absence reporting on the school website or via Parentapps explaining the reason for their child’s absence. If a child is absent from school after the register has closed and the school has not been informed of the reason for the absence, then every attempt will be made to contact the child’s family and ascertain the reason for the absence.
The Head Teacher is responsible for authorising absences and it may be that a reason given for the absence is not acceptable.
The following may be reasons for authorising absences:
- Illness – parents will be requested to provide medical evidence where possible
- Family bereavements
- Family holiday (see note below)
- Medical and dental appointments
- Fixed term suspension
- Permanent suspension until removed from roll or re-instated
- Educated off site
- Approved sporting activity
- Religious observance
- Educational visit
- Other authorised circumstances
Family Holidays
Parents should not normally take pupils on holiday during the school term though schools are able to exercise their discretion when granting parental requests. However, each request should be considered individually taking into account the age of the child, previous attendance patterns, parental views and the educational progress of the child. If a request is not granted and the parent takes the child on holiday, the absence should not be authorised. If a request is granted the absence would not normally be for more than two weeks in any school year. If the holiday goes on for longer than agreed, the extra days absence should be unauthorised. School holidays are not authorised unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Click here for our Term Dates page
Procedures for following up absences:
- If a note or telephone call is not received from parents, the parents will be contacted on the first day of absence by telephone or by text.
- Where there is no response, a second text will be sent after 2 days of unexplained absence, or there may be a visit from a member of the school staff or the Pupil Welfare Officer where the service is already involved.
- Where non-attendance continues, the case will be discussed with the Pupil Welfare Officer for the school and further action planned. This may, in appropriate cases, result in a referral to the PWO.
- After 10 days, unless action is planned, the parents will be invited to attend a meeting in school. The meeting will include appropriate staff, PWO, parent and pupil and will identify and solve the problems that are preventing the pupil from attending school.
- If the is no improvement, then the case will be discussed again with the PWO to discuss any action needed.
Due to the new government rules about attendance our St John's Attendance Policy is currently under review (September 2024)
If you are having difficulties in ensuring your child’s good attendance or good punctuality, we want to help, however we can.
At St. John's we work closely with the Pupil Welfare Service, to find out more click here!