Dear Parents/Guardians,

​At IVJS we want every child to meet their potential and we know that to do this they need to be attending school regularly.  Irregular attendance is defined by the government as a child missing 10% or more of the school year, this equates to 19 days.  The government uses the term as persistently absent to describe a child who misses 19 days of school in a year. 
We know that it is not always possible for a child to attend school every day as they do occasionally become ill.  As always, when we monitor attendance we will be using a common sense approach.  However, we are required to monitor attendance and act on poor attendance by following the Council’s policy.  Below we have made a flow chart to show the processes and also to show you how quickly your child could be classed as persistently absent. 
We will always work with you and try to support you if there are barriers to your child attending regularly.  If your child’s attendance is poor, we will meet with you and if necessary explain the Council’s policy. 
IVJS is a place where every child belongs.  We create a welcoming environment to allow all children to gain a sense of belonging and ultimately achieve academically through regular school attendance.
 
4 days absence
We start to monitor attendance to ensure that the child attends school regularly.  If appropriate Stage 1 letter is sent to parents.  Possible early help support offered 
 
7 days absence
Stage 2 letter sent to parents as the concern will be that the child is in danger of becoming classed as ‘Persistently absent’.  If appropriate parents will meet with the attendance lead to explore barriers and to discuss how the school can support. 
 
10 days absence
The child is at high risk of becoming persistently absent, a Stage 3 letter will be sent to parents where apporpriate.  Parents meet with attendance lead and we will consider support from external agencies.  Attendance lead will explain the Bucks attendance policy and the legal requirements for children to attend school.
 
13 days absence
The school will meet with parents and will write an attendance contract to ensure regular attendance.  Attendance will be closely monitored and reviewed in two weeks.  The school will continue to support the family.

16 days absence
The school will be working closely with Bucks Council.  All avenues of support will have been exhausted and the support is not working or not being engaged with.  The school will now ask Bucks council to enforce attendance through statutory intervention to protect the child’s right to an education.
 
19 days absence
The child is now considered a Persistently Absent child.  Safeguarding referrals may be made at this stage.  The school will continue to work with the family to improve the child’s attendance.

Kindest regards,

Miss J Digweed/Mr P Clifford

Early Birds and Bluebells club are now available to book up until the Easter holiday. Early Birds starts on the morning of Thursday 5th January and runs through to the last day of term; Friday 31st March. Bluebells starts on Thursday 5th January and runs everyday until Thursday 30th March, there is NO after school provision on Friday 31st March as we will be finishing at 1pm. These are available to book through the Clubs tab on your School Money account.

For next half term, we will be keeping the same clubs with the exception of expanding our Netball Club to all year groups and adding a few more. As before, clubs will show as a payment on your child's School Money account (www.eduspot.co.uk).
Please do not pay this unless you want to book your child a space. 

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have worked really hard to show off all they have learnt in their assessments! In English, they have written their own narratives about the journey of a Snowman, using some very imaginative vocabulary. In Maths, they have been learning to multiply by hundreds and multiples of hundreds. It has been a very busy week for Year 3 in their Design and Technology lessons, they have created fantastic finger puppets and then developed their skills by designing glove puppets. They have really persevered with their sewing skills to create their puppets. Great job Year 3!
Year 4 – have been busy learning about staying safe online, collecting data about their screen time every day and learning about databases. It has been a busy week of Maths and English assessments but all teachers are very proud of their classes and how much progress they have made this term! In English, Year 4 have been writing their own narrative poems about ‘Arthur and the Golden Rope’ and have tried to make sure they have included rhyme and interesting descriptive language. In Humanities and Science, they have been reviewing their learning for the term by creating mind maps and recapping key vocabulary.
Year 5 – have been working hard on their Maths assessments and have shown us how well they have remembered everything they have learnt so far! In English, they have completed their festive narratives and have started to make some excellent book reviews for the Year 5 display boards. Everyone is so excited to see some of their lovely work up for all to see.        In DT, the children have worked so hard to make some excellent pencil cases out of felt. They have successfully threaded their needles and joined their edges using a simple basket stitch.
Year 6 – have worked exceptionally hard completing their end of term assessments. We are so proud of every single one of the children in Year 6 and we hope that they feel very proud of all they have achieved this half term! In science, we have been learning about scientific classification for living things, the different types of microorganisms and how they can be helpful as well as harmful. On Friday, we have had an exciting day cooking for our DT project and learning safe kitchen skills. We are all looking forward to continuing cooking on Monday!

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have looking at number families, using multiplication and division. In English, they been focusing on developing their reading comprehension skills. At the end of the week, they have been planning their own winter story around the adventures of a snowman. They have started a new Design and Technology topic, learning about different kinds of puppets and how they are made. They have designed their own finger puppets.
Year 4 – have been busy learning lots of new maths skills this week, they have been looking at halves, quarters and their decimal equivalents, solving two step word problems and refreshing their knowledge of shapes. In English, they have finally finished their travel brochures and they are amazing! They should be very proud of the effort they have put into them, especially their concluding page. We could have a year group of perspective travel writers on our hands. In DT this week, Year 4 got to make their seasonal vegetable soups. Not only did they prep and make their own soups but they also ‘filmed’ them as part of their own cooking vlog.
Year 5 – have completed their topic of fractions by subtracting fractions with different denominators. They have even had a go at subtracting multiple fractions with different denominators from mixed number fractions. In English, they have begun writing their festive narratives and have written some really fantastic setting descriptions to kick off their story. They have included lots of expanded noun phrases to add detail and described the North Pole using their 5 senses. Year 5 have also started their new DT topic this week, where they have been exploring how different items are joined and fastened and whether the way they are designed is fit for purpose. Finally in Humanities, we are saying goodbye to the Vikings as Year 5 have completed their learning on the topic, they have delved into how things ended for the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons and thought about the significance of the Battle of Hastings. 
Year 6 – have continued their learning about fractions. They have developed confidence with multiplying and dividing fractions and using the skills they have learnt to solve problems. In English, they have continued to read their class text, 'Floodlands' and begun to predict their own endings for the story which they will write next week. They have finished their Humanities topic by exploring the culture and trade in Brazil.

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been very creative in English. They have used their imaginations to create their own animal. In order to inform everyone about their new creation, they have produced a non-chronological report that included sub-headings, commas for lists and descriptive adjectives. In Maths, they have moved on from multiplication and are now setting their focus on division. They have focused on dividing by 2, 5 and 4 and applied their knowledge to solve word problems. In Science, they have continued their exploration of forces. This week, they investigated magnetic forces including which items are attracted or repelled by a magnet as well as how a compass works. They are all looking forward to the Carol Concert next week and have been practicing their Christmas songs with excitement.
Year 4 – have continued to write their travel brochures about Iceland, they have been taking their time to publish them with care and are already multiple pages long! This week, they have added sections on 'Things you can See' and a very exciting page on 'Things to do in Iceland'. Some children even shortlisted the activities for a ‘Top 5 things to do’ section. Miss Rowe, Mrs Punny and Miss Ramsay are very impressed with the work so far, they can't wait to see the finished brochures! In Maths they have been working on the tricky skill of multiplying 3 single digit numbers together however, it has been made much easier by the number of children who have been practising their times tables, really impressing everyone with their tables recall. Keep it up Year 4! In Science the whole year group got to try and find the best material to absorb sound. They found that a thick, padded coat was the best item as all of the padded layers absorbed more of the sound.
Year 5 – have finished their newspaper articles about The World Cup and have produced some fantastic pieces of writing, which contained lots of interesting facts about Qatar and England's first match! In Maths, the children have been working on adding fractions with different denominators and adding to mixed numbers, building on their knowledge from last week. In Humanities, they have been continuing their learning about the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. They were intrigued to learn about the daily life of a Viking in their longhouses and have completed a timeline of events of the time period based on their knowledge so far.
Year 6 – have continued to develop their understanding of fractions and have been solving problems involving multiplying and dividing fractions. In English, they have continued to write their narratives to retell the story of 'Glued'. They have worked hard to create atmosphere in their writing. In Humanities, Y6 have learnt about the Sugar Loaf Mountain of Brazil and explored the lives of those living in two very different areas of Rio de Janeiro.