Reporting Absences

Our Family Support Advisor, Kathryn Maddison, plays a key role in promoting excellent attendance and ensuring that every child benefits fully from the education and opportunities available at Ribbon Academy.

Working closely with pupils, families, school staff and external agencies, Kathryn provides advice, guidance and support to help overcome any barriers that may affect attendance or punctuality. We recognise that regular attendance is essential for children’s academic achievement, wellbeing, social development and safeguarding.

We celebrate and reward good attendance and recognise the efforts of pupils who demonstrate commitment to attending school regularly or who make significant improvements in their attendance and punctuality.

Parents and carers receive regular information regarding their child’s attendance. Where attendance begins to cause concern, we will contact families at the earliest opportunity to discuss any support that may be required and to work together to improve attendance.

Attendance and punctuality are monitored daily by the school. Where concerns arise, we take a supportive and proactive approach, working in partnership with families to identify barriers and secure positive outcomes for children.

We strongly discourage holidays during term time, as these can have a significant impact on children’s learning and educational progress. Parents and carers are encouraged to consult the school calendar and published term dates before making holiday arrangements.

At Ribbon Academy, we believe that every day matters. By working together, we can ensure that every child attends school regularly, arrives on time and is ready to learn, thrive and succeed.

If your child is unable to attend school due to illness or another unavoidable reason, a parent or carer must notify the school as soon as possible and no later than 9:30am on the first day of absence.

Absences can be reported by:

• Calling the school office.
• Sending a message via the Attendance icon on Class Dojo.

When reporting an absence, please provide your child’s name, class and the reason for their absence.

If we have not received notification of your child’s absence, a member of the Attendance Team will contact you to ensure your child’s safety and wellbeing. It is therefore essential that the school always has up-to-date contact details for parents and emergency contacts.

Where possible, please inform the school in advance of any medical, dental or other appointments that will take place during the school day. Evidence of appointments, such as an appointment card, letter or text confirmation, may be requested.

On your child’s return to school, staff may seek further information where required to ensure that attendance records are accurate and that appropriate support can be provided where necessary.

Good attendance is vital for children’s learning, wellbeing and safeguarding. We work closely with families to support regular attendance and to ensure that every child is in school, on time and ready to learn.