Attendance
Why Attendance Matters
Every day at school counts. Regular attendance allows your child to learn, develop social skills, and reach their full potential.
We understand that our children may face additional barriers to attendance, and we are committed to working closely with you to support your child to attend school as regularly as possible.
Reporting Your Child's Absence
If your child cannot attend school:
Phone: 0151 342 6741
Message: Send a dojo message to the class team
Please contact us before 9:00am on the first day of absence.
If we haven't heard from you, we will contact you to check the reason for their absence. We want to know that every child is safe and well if they haven't arrived at school.
Our Expectations
We are ambitious for every child and expect all pupils to attend every day unless they are genuinely unwell or there are exceptional circumstances. We recognise that some children may need a personalised approach to attendance, and we'll work with you to agree what good attendance looks like for your child.
Leave of Absence
We can only grant leave in specific circumstances, such as exceptional situations, medical appointments that cannot be scheduled outside school hours, or other agreed reasons. We cannot authorise term-time holidays.
To request leave, please contact the headteacher in writing.
How We Support Your Child
We believe in working in partnership with every family when attendance is a concern, understanding that each child's needs are different. We listen, adapt and find solutions together.
For all pupils, we will:
- Work with you to understand and address any barriers to attendance.
- Meet with families where attendance is a concern
- Make reasonable adjustments to help your child attend
- Celebrate attendance successes, however small
We aim to support every child and family through any attendance challenges. We understand that anxiety, medical appointments, health needs and other related factors can affect attendance, and we're here to help.
Understanding Absence
Persistent absence: Missing 10% or more of school (approximately 1 day per fortnight)
Severe absence: Missing 50% or more of school
We recognise that our pupils may have higher absence rates due to medical appointments, health needs or other related factors. If your child's attendance falls into these categories, we will work intensively with you. We believe in supporting every family to overcome barriers together, and we'll agree a personalised plan that works for your child. Our pupil support and family liaison works closely with families who need some extra support and advice.
Medical Appointments
We understand that our children often have regular medical appointments, therapy sessions or hospital visits. Where possible, please try to schedule these outside school hours. If this isn't possible, we ask that your child attends school before or after the appointment.
Please provide us with appointment information (text, letter, email) so we can authorise the absence appropriately. These can be added to the parent portal on Compass.
Legal Framework
Where there are concerns, we will always try to work with you first. We understand the complex needs of our pupils and will take these into account. However, if support hasn't been effective or engaged with, we may need to work with the local authority attendance team as outlined in the Wirral attendance policy here: Wirral Attendance Policy
Working Together
We are ambitious for every child at Stanley School. Good attendance is a partnership between school and home, built on our shared commitment to caring for your child, learning together, being inclusive in our approach, and holding ambitious aspirations for their future.
We know that every child's journey is different, and we're here to support yours. If you have concerns or need support, please contact us. We are here to help.