Children are required by law to attend school.

An attendance of 85% or below throughout the year is a loss of 6 weeks education for a child which, in reality, means missing out on 6 or 7 topics across the Curriculum.

Please be aware that children’s attendance is not monitored by the school but by Education Authority’s Welfare Officer (EWO) on a monthly basis.

The parents / carers of children with 85% or less attendance usually receive a letter of concern.

Should attendance continue to be an issue, the EWO will become responsible for monitoring the future attendance of the pupil every month.

The EWO also monitors pupils who are persistent late comers or display a pattern of leaving school before class is over.

Parents should phone the school on morning of their child’s absence to report their child’s absence.  Or pupils must bring a written explanation of the absence from his/her parent/carer on returning to school. If the school is not informed of a reason for absence the child will be marked as an unauthorised absence.

Parents are expected to inform school about planned holidays during the school terms, however, please be aware that ALL HOLIDAYS taken during term time are considered UNAUTHORISED by the Attendance Officer.