Every School Day Matters

At Distington Community School, we want every child to enjoy coming to school, feel that they belong and have the best possible opportunity to learn and achieve.

Regular attendance helps children to make progress in their learning, develop friendships, build confidence and benefit from the wider experiences that school provides.

Attendance Lead: Miss L Savage

Our school attendance target is above 96%.

We recognise; however, that there may be times when children are unable to attend school and that some children and families may experience barriers which make regular attendance more difficult. We want parents and carers to talk to us as early as possible so that we can work together to understand the situation and identify appropriate support.

Reporting Your Child's Absence

If your child is unable to attend school, please contact the school before 8:30am to tell us that they will be absent and explain the reason for their absence.

Please contact the school office on 01946 830526 and if no-one is available to take your call, please leave a message on the Attendance Line

Where an absence continues, parents and carers should keep school informed about their child's circumstances and expected return to school. 

If We Have Not Heard From You

When a child is absent from school and we have not received an explanation, we will follow our first-day absence and safeguarding procedures to establish the child's whereabouts and ensure that they are safe.

This will include contacting parents or carers and the emergency contacts held on the child's school record.

Where we are unable to establish the child's whereabouts, or we have concerns about their welfare, we will take appropriate action in accordance with our safeguarding procedures.

It is therefore very important that school always has up-to-date telephone numbers and emergency contact details for your child.

Our Whole-School Attendance Challenge ⭐

Every Friday in assembly, Miss Savage celebrates our weekly attendance champions by announcing the class with the highest attendance. The winning class is awarded a golden star, which is proudly added to our whole-school attendance display board.

Throughout the year, classes work hard to collect as many golden stars as possible. At the end of the academic year, the class with the most stars will be rewarded with a special treat!

This is a fun way to celebrate excellent attendance, encourage everyone to come to school every day and recognise the importance of being present, ready and excited to learn.

Illness

We understand that children may experience occasional short-term illnesses, such as colds and other common childhood bugs, which can affect attendance. However, we encourage families to support their child’s return to school as soon as they are well enough to attend, helping to maintain good attendance throughout the academic year.

If we have not received notification of your child’s absence, school will follow its attendance and safeguarding procedures to establish the reason for their absence and ensure that your child is safe and well. Further information can be found in our school policies and on our safeguarding page.

Below is a guide to help parents and carers decide whether their child should remain at home due to illness and, where applicable, how long they should be absent. For further advice, please refer to the NHS guidance on Infectious illnesses in children.