Attendance Information
Good attendance at school is essential for the welfare and progress of students. The parent of every child of compulsory school age (5 to 16) has a legal obligation to ensure that the child receives efficient full-time education. Our Attendance Guide gives you all the information you need to know about your child’s school attendance.
Absences
You do not have an automatic right to take your child/ren out of school during term time and doing so can cause much disruption. We are unable to authorise any requests for absence relating to holidays in term time.
Where absence is unavoidable, permission must be sought in advance by completing an Absence Request Form. In considering your request the school will consider:
Unauthorised absences may well result in the instigation of parental responsibility measures which could be a penalty notice, or a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 3 months.
The Importance of Good Attendance
Did you know that:
GCSEs may seem a long way off for your child, but all absences at any stage of your child’s education leads to gaps in your child’s learning.
This in turn can:
Supporting your child's attendance
Good attendance habits are best started early. Children learn from those around them and you as parents/carers set the standards and expectations for them. Showing your child the importance of attending school every day not only helps your child to settle quickly when starting school but helps them to keep and maintain friendships and enjoy the school environment.
Be organised, have a plan, be consistent and involve your child.
You should:
There tends to be good reasons why children become reluctant to attend school. Take the time to listen to your child, share any concerns you or your child may have with the appropriate member of school staff and seek support at the very earliest opportunity.
Absences
You do not have an automatic right to take your child/ren out of school during term time and doing so can cause much disruption. We are unable to authorise any requests for absence relating to holidays in term time.
Where absence is unavoidable, permission must be sought in advance by completing an Absence Request Form. In considering your request the school will consider:
- the time and duration of the absence
- your child’s record of attendance
- the learning that will be missed
Unauthorised absences may well result in the instigation of parental responsibility measures which could be a penalty notice, or a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 3 months.
The Importance of Good Attendance
Did you know that:
- a child who is absent a day of school per week misses an equivalent of two years of their school life.
- 90% of young people with attendance rates below 85% fail to achieve five or more good grades of GCSE and around one third achieve no GCSEs at all!
- poor examination results limit young people’s options.
- poor attendance suggests to colleges and employers that these students are unreliable.
- poor school attendance can lead to potential involvement in crime - a quarter of school age offenders have truanted repeatedly.
- In the UK 7.5 million school days are missed each year through unauthorised absence.
GCSEs may seem a long way off for your child, but all absences at any stage of your child’s education leads to gaps in your child’s learning.
This in turn can:
- mean that they fall behind in work
- They lose motivation
- Impact on their enjoyment of learning
- lead to poor behaviour
- affect their desire to attend school regularly
- affect their confidence in school
- mean they miss out on the social life of school and extra-curricular opportunities and experiences
- affect their ability to have or keep friendships.
Supporting your child's attendance
Good attendance habits are best started early. Children learn from those around them and you as parents/carers set the standards and expectations for them. Showing your child the importance of attending school every day not only helps your child to settle quickly when starting school but helps them to keep and maintain friendships and enjoy the school environment.
Be organised, have a plan, be consistent and involve your child.
You should:
- Create good routines for mornings at home so that your child can arrive punctually and they are properly equipped
- Talk to them about the things they have been learning. A short chat may produce a better result than a long list of questions.
- Read all school communications.
- Attend school parents evenings and functions.
- Check your child understands the homework and that it has been completed. Support them in completing homework by creating a calm space for them to work in.
- Avoid absence from school wherever possible. Avoid GP and dental appointments during school hours. Absence means your child will miss out on academic studies and begin to feel that education is not a priority. This can have a negative lifelong effect.
There tends to be good reasons why children become reluctant to attend school. Take the time to listen to your child, share any concerns you or your child may have with the appropriate member of school staff and seek support at the very earliest opportunity.
