Attendance

At Blessed Sacrament good attendance is our priority. We work hard to ensure our pupils attend school and are here on time. 

If your child is not at school they are missing out on the quality education we offer them. Missing school can also influence a student's social and emotional development. School is a place for interaction with peers, for fostering social skills, teamwork, and an environment that provides emotional wellbeing support. Regular attendance allows students to form friendships and develop a sense of belonging with their school community. 

Each week we celebrate attendance and often hold discussions about attendance with our pupils. 

Our target for attendance is 97% for every child at Blessed Sacrament. Throughout the year, we offer rewards, prize-draws etc to encourage excellent attendance.

We appreciate that children may not achieve 100% in a half term or a year due to illness but we ask you to work with us to limit the number of missed days.

What should I do if my child is ill?

If your child is too ill to attend school you must call or text to inform us as soon as possible. You can leave a message on our answerphone outside of office hours. If we do not hear from you we will give you a call to check why your child is not at school or nursery. If we cannot contact you, we will continue to try to get in touch in other ways including using other numbers we have on record for you. We may also conduct a home visit to carry out a welfare check. 

If you are struggling to get your child into school for another reason please contact a member of the attendance team to see if we can offer any support. 

What is my child’s attendance?

You will find your child’s attendance on your half termly reports or you can ask a member of the attendance team.

What does my child’s attendance mean?

Liverpool attendance categories

95 to 100% - as expected

91 to 94% - at risk of persistent absence

80 to 90 % - persistent absence

51 to 79 % - at risk of severe absence

Less than 50% - severe absence

Term time holidays 

Holidays in term time will not be authorised unless in exceptional circumstances. The DfE cites three examples of ‘exceptional circumstances’:  

• Where a parent is a member of the armed forces and has restricted leave  

• Where a parent is a member of the Fire Service and has restricted shift patterns/ leave.  

• When there has been a bereavement of a close family member.

All decisions regarding a term time holiday are made by the headteacher. If a term time holiday is unauthorised then a penalty notice will most likely be issued by the local authority.