Attendance

At Milton Primary Academy, we know that regular attendance is crucial to a child's academic success and personal development. We strive for our whole school attendance to be consistently 97% and above - every day counts in a child's learning journey.

By attending school regularly, pupils gain:

Consistent learning where knowledge builds upon knowledge,
Social skills where strong friendships are formed with peers and the teachers,
Routines which fosters a sense of responsibility and expectations are stable.

At Milton, we expect all pupils to arrive in school daily, on time and ready to learn.

For families who may face challenges that impact attendance, we have dedicated staff who will listen and offer support where possible.

Children at our school want to come to school because:

it helps them have a good future
they learn new things and skills
it prepares them for the next stage of their education, secondary school
they get to play with their friends

Attendance Policy

As a school we follow the Local Authority attendance procedures and work in collaboration with families and the LA to improve attendance.

As of 19th August 2024, there are significant changes to the way in which schools monitor and act upon pupils attendance. These changes have come from the Department for Education's statutory guidance - Working Together to Improve School Attendance .

Our Attendance Policy for 2024-2025 includes these changes.

Is my child ok to attend school?

Not all illnesses require your child to take time off school.

The table below shows some common illnesses and whether your child should attend school if they have the illness. If your child is still ok to come into school, it is important that you still let us know if your child has any of the illnesses listed in the table below.

Illness	Should my child still come to school?
Conjunctivitis	Yes.
Hand, Foot and Mouth	Yes.
Head Lice	Yes.
Vomiting	Yes, but only if the vomiting is not linked to a stomach bug.
Slapped Cheek	Yes, once rash has developed.
Threadworms	Yes.
Diarrhoea and Vomiting	No. Your child should remain off school for 48 hours from the last episode.
Scarlet Fever	No. Your child should remain off school until 24 hours after starting antibiotics.
Tonsillitis	Yes.
Chicken Pox	No. Your child should remain off school until all spots have crusted over, and then they can return.
Impetigo	No. Your child can return when lesions are crusted and healed or 48 hours after starting antibiotics.

How to report an absence:

If your child is not well enough to attend school, please call the school office on 01782 234780 and specify the reason for the absence. If the absence lasts longer than one day, you will need to call the school office on each day of the absence.

Our approach to attendance:

All children should aim for 100% attendance and a minimum of 96% attendance is expected. If attendance falls below this, it can have a significant impact on the number of lessons missed which impacts on progress and achievement.

The table below shows our approach to dealing with attendance that falls below the expected level.

Attendance Level	What Happens?
Attendance below 96%	Child identified by the welfare team and monitored closely. Class teacher may speak to parents, notifying them of a fall in attendance.
Attendance below 95%	Child identified by the welfare team and monitored closely. Medical evidence required to authorise absence by illness. Meeting at school with a member of the welfare team. Support plan to improve attendance agreed.
Attendance below 93%	Child identified by the pastoral team and monitored closely. Medical evidence required to authorise absence by illness. Meeting at school with the family welfare coordinator. Support plan adapted to improve attendance as at risk of becoming classified as persistently absent.
Attendance below 90%	Child now categorised as persistently absent. Attendance monitored daily. Medical evidence required to authorise absence by illness. Meeting at school with a senior leader and the education welfare officer to discuss the case and next steps.

Attendance Information Leaflet (2024-25) Changes to Penalty Notices 2024-2025 MPA Attendance Policy 2024-2025