Our School Day

Being on time is important

We have exciting morning routines to start each day in a calm, welcoming environment to ensure our children are settled for their learning.  Class teachers use SODA (start of the day activities) to revise and revisit key areas of learning.  Coming to school on time is crucial as it maximises learning, reduces anxiety, and builds vital life habits.  Arriving on time ensures children do not miss key recapping opportunities, allows them to settle in socially with peers, avoids disrupting lessons, and fosters responsibility, with even 15 minutes of daily lateness losing 10 days of education per year. 

The school day starts at 9:00am (with the gates opening, allowing for a soft start at 8:50am) and ends at 3:30pm. From Reception to Y6, school gates close at 9am. Any child entering after this time will be marked late.

Children who are late should enter school through the main reception where they will be marked on the register with a late code. Children arriving later than 9.30am will be given an unauthorised code.

The afternoon register is taken at 12:30pm and will be kept open until 1pm.

Nursery: Nursery morning session starts at 8:45am and finishes at 11:45am. The afternoon session begins at 12:15pm until 3:15pm.

Absence

The pupil’s parent must notify the school of the reason for the absence on the first day of an unplanned absence by 9am, or as soon as practically possible, by calling the school office staff, who can be contacted via 01543 452197 or office@st-johns.walsall.sch.uk

Attendance

Here at St John's we are proud to be collaborating with Inclusive Attendance; our aim to provide the best support for our children and families and to empower our children to regularly attend school. Our unwavering commitment to attendance centres around child-centric actions, evidence-informed practices, and a shared understanding of everyone’s roles and collective responsibilities to promote exceptional attendance.

A Multi-Tiered System of Support

To guarantee a comprehensive approach to attendance, we have implemented a Multi-Tiered System of Support. A Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for school attendance involves three tiers of intervention, with roles for teachers, the school, children, parents, and external agencies – including the Local Authority. Data-driven decision-making and training requirements are pivotal to the implementation of this system. The system aligns with the Department for Education's (DFE) "Working Together to Improve School Attendance" statutory paper 2024.

Tier 1 - Universal Approach: Establishing a baseline universal attendance approach that benefits all children.

Tier 2 – Internal individualised Strategies and Early Help Support: Tailoring strategies to individual needs and providing early help support for persistent attendance challenges.

Tier 3 - Higher Needs Strategies Support: Furnishing specialised support for children, young people, and families with complex attendance requirements, including access to external agency support when necessary.

Recognition-Based Approach

Our attendance philosophy is rooted in a recognition-based approach that recognises both personal and collective achievements. This approach serves to cultivate positive environments, nurture relationships, foster inclusivity, and ultimately cultivate intrinsic motivation among our children, families, and staff. 

All staff at St John’s understand the importance of regular attendance and how absence affects attainment, well-being and wider outcomes. We all have responsibility for attendance and all staff will:

• Have high expectations of punctuality and attendance
• Make the school a safe and happy environment
• Make every day count
• Welcome every child in to school
• Excite the children by telling them about their next day’s activities
• Offer a curriculum that is exciting and engaging that meet the needs of all children
• Offer wider opportunities inside and outside of school
• Promote the benefits of regular attendance
• Build strong relationships and work jointly with families, listening to barriers and working in partnership to remove them