September 2026

Working Together to Support Your Child’s Attendance & Wellbeing

Dear Parents and Carers,

At Yorkswood Primary School, our primary focus is to ensure every child feels happy, safe, and supported so they can thrive in all areas of school life. Following up on our recent ClassDojo post, we want to reiterate our commitment to working closely with our families to build strong, regular attendance across our entire school community.

Daily attendance is vital not only for academic success, but also for children’s Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH). Being in school every day allows children to build strong friendships, establish reassuring routines, grow in confidence, and feel a real sense of belonging. Looking at our school data from last year, children with good attendance (over 95%) achieved consistently higher educational outcomes across every year group. When children are here, they flourish through the dedicated teaching and support our team provides.

Introducing Jade Crammond, Our Education Welfare Officer (EWO)

To help us offer the best possible support to our school community, we are delighted to welcome Jade Crammond, our dedicated Education Welfare Officer (EWO).

Jade will be working alongside us one day every week to support our families and school team. Her role is rooted in early help and collaboration—working with parents to understand any barriers to attendance, providing advice, and finding positive solutions so every child can attend school regularly and comfortably.

In line with updated Department for Education (DfE) guidance (Working Together to Improve School Attendance), we operate a "Support First" approach. Whenever attendance becomes a concern or challenges arise, our fundamental starting point is always: "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Daily Attendance Guidance & Procedures

To help our morning routines run smoothly and maintain clear safeguarding procedures, please note the following essential guidance:

• Reporting Absences by 8:30 AM: If your child is unable to attend school, please notify the school office by 8:30 AM on each day of absence.

• Providing Specific Symptoms: When calling, please give specific details regarding your child's symptoms rather than leaving a general "unwell" or "ill" message.

• Minor Illnesses & NHS Guidance: Following official NHS advice (Is my child too ill for school?), children with minor coughs, colds, or sniffles can and should attend school as long as they do not have a high temperature. We keep plenty of tissues in class and will monitor them closely throughout the day.

• Punctuality & Register Closing Times:

  • School begins and registers close at 8:55 AM.

  • Children arriving between 8:55 AM and 9:25 AM will receive a Late mark ('L').

  • Arrivals after 9:25 AM are recorded as an Unauthorised Late ('U'), which legally counts as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.

• Medical Appointments: Please arrange routine dental and medical appointments outside of school hours wherever possible. If an appointment during the school day is unavoidable, please provide an appointment card or letter to the office. Children should attend school before and/or after their appointment so they lose as little learning time as possible.

Early Help & 'Safe and Well Checks'

We understand that every family experiences difficulties from time to time, and getting to school every day can sometimes feel challenging. We offer a range of support pathways to work alongside you:

• Early Help Support Meetings: If your child’s attendance falls below 95% or if they experience school-related anxiety, Jade Crammond (EWO) and our Family Support team will reach out to invite you to an Early Help conversation so we can put tailored support in place.

• 'Safe and Well Checks': In line with DfE statutory guidelines, if a child has 3 consecutive days of absence, members of our staff may perform a home visit known as a 'Safe and Well Check'. These visits are purely supportive—our goal is simply to check in, see that your child is safe, and see how we can assist you.

Planned Term-Time Absences

Under national DfE regulations, Headteachers are strictly prohibited from granting leave of absence during term time unless exceptional circumstances apply.

• Submitting a Request: If you need to request leave for exceptional reasons, an official request form must be submitted at least 4 weeks in advance.

• Unauthorised Absences & Penalty Notices: Holidays during term time cannot be authorised. Amassing 10 or more sessions (5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a term may lead to a referral to the Local Authority for a Penalty Notice fine.

We are incredibly proud of our children and value the strong relationship we hold with our parents and carers. By working in partnership with Jade, our school team, and your family, we can ensure every child at Yorkswood gets the most out of their education.

If you have any questions or feel you would benefit from extra support with your child's attendance, please feel free to contact the school office or reach out to Jade Crammond during her day with us.

Warmest regards,

Yorkswood Primary School Leadership Team

Activities, support and services available to families in Solihull over the summer

Solihull Council is here to help residents discover the activities, support and services available to families in Solihull over the summer. 

Here2Help this summer provides information about free events at the Best Start Family Hubs, sessions through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, and financial support for families via the Crisis and Resilience Fund. 

Here2Help this summer homepage 

Separate support information:

Cost of Living 

Summer Activities 

Best Start Family Hubs

If you have any questions or want more information, please contact Here2Help Team here2help@solihull.gov.uk.

The Solihull Education Participation Advisory Service is currently offering Attendance Support. We know that getting children into school can sometimes be difficult, and we want to ensure all our Yorkswood Primary families have the tools they need to succeed.

Chloe and Liz will be completing weekly drop in sessions in the north and south of Solihull. They will be offering attendance advice, support and guidance. These sessions are perfect for you if:

• Your child worries about going to school.

• You feel you have tried everything to ensure your child attends school but nothing seems to be working.

• You feel there has been a relationship breakdown with your child's school.

• You have general questions around school attendance.

Please attend one of our drop in sessions for attendance support. There is no need to make an appointment. Just drop in during the drop in times above:

• Tuesdays: Tuesday 12-1.30pm @ Elmwood Place. The address is 37 Burtons Way, Birmingham, B36 0UG.

• Wednesdays: Wednesday 9.30-11.30am @ Monkspath Juniors and Infants School. This is located in the bungalow next to the school building at 5 Farmhouse Way, Shirley, Solihull, B90 4EH.

If you have any questions please email attendanceenquiries@solihull.gov.uk. We encourage any parents in the Kingshurst community who need a helping hand to take advantage of this wonderful resource provided by Solihull Family Hubs.

At Yorkswood Primary School, we believe every child deserves a beginning that is as ambitious as their future. We are delighted to announce that applications are now officially open for our September intake for children born between 1st September 2022 and 31st August 2023.

At Yorkswood Primary School, we believe that every day is a new opportunity for our pupils to learn, grow, and build bright futures. We know that for children to achieve their very best, regular and consistent attendance is the foundation of their success.

We understand that life can sometimes be complicated and hurdles can get in the way. Our goal is to work in partnership with our Kingshurst families to overcome these challenges. To support this, we have streamlined our attendance procedures to ensure transparency and clarity.

Key Timing Reminders:

• 8:40 am: School gates open.

• 8:45 am: Classroom doors open for a smooth start to the day.

• 8:55 am: Gates close. Arrivals after this time must sign in at the office and will receive a late mark.

• 9:25 am: Arrivals after this time are recorded as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.

• 3:30 pm: Standard collection time (unless attending an after-school club).

Our Commitment to Safety and Support From Day 1 of an absence, we will check in to ensure your child is safe. If attendance falls below 95%, we don't just see a statistic—we see an opportunity to help. Whether it’s a friendly phone call, an "Early Help" meeting, or a supportive "Attendance Contract," our focus is always on celebrating improvements and providing stability for your child.

We are here to help your child thrive. If you have any concerns regarding attendance, please reach out to your class teacher or our dedicated Attendance Team.

We are incredibly proud of the exciting learning that has taken place across the school this term! We hope that the regular Class Dojo posts have kept you up-to-date with the great work the children have been doing. Here are some of the highlights from this term: 

Year 1 children have taken part in a Young Writers competition writing their own recipe poems and these children have been chosen to have their work published in the ‘Recipe Poems- Little Wonders’ book. We are very proud of them! 

Jacob (Year 3) created this model volcano following our shake, rattle and roll topic this half term.

Year 4 have had an exciting term with a visit from the fire service and Bikeability. 

Ambika (Year 5) created this wonderful non-chronological report all about dragons. 

Our wider curriculum is built around fascinating topics that blend History and Geography, helping our children to develop critical thinking skills, a sense of place, and an understanding of the world's past and present.

See below an overview of the wider curriculum learning that the children have enjoyed this year so far.

 

 

	Topic	What did the children learn?
Nursery	All About Me	The children have been learning about their own characteristics and what makes them special. They have compared what they can do to what they couldn’t do as babies.
Reception	Our Family	The children have been talking about what makes each and every one of us special. We have discussed our appearance and our likes and dislikes. We have thought about what makes a good friend and shared who are friends are in Holly Class.
Year 1	Memory Lane	The children learnt about the past. We thought about what we can remember from when we were younger, learnt how to put things in chronological order and then explored how objects have changed over time, starting with the telephone and moving on to look at bikes.
Year 2	London Eye	The children learnt about our capital city: London. They then learnt about Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot.
Year 3	Shake, Rattle & Roll	The children learnt about volcanoes and earthquakes and the impact of these on local communities.
Year 4	Field to Fork	The children became investigators of the food chain, tracing how food travels from farm to plate.
Year 5	Baghdad’s Golden Age	Children explored Baghdad as a global centre for learning, science, maths, and architecture, understanding its lasting impact on modern society.
Year 6	Global Action!	The children have learnt about rainforests and how the climate impacts the local community both positively and negatively.They then explored sustainability.

As you can see, the children have had a great term and learnt so much. If you have any questions about what your child is learning, please speak with your child’s class teacher and they will be happy to help.