Attendance and Punctuality

Our school: 

• Has a clear school attendance policy on the school website which all staff, pupils and parents understand.   
• Develops and maintains a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of good attendance and punctuality. 
• Accurately completes admission and attendance registers.    
• Has robust daily processes to follow up absence.   
• Has a dedicated member of the senior leadership team with overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance. 

All parents and guardians are expected to: 

• Ensure their child attends every day the school is open on time except when a statutory reason applies. 
• Notify the school as soon as possible when their child has to be unexpectedly absent (e.g. illness).
• Only request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and do so in advance.  
• Book any medical appointments outside of the school day where possible.

NHS Guidance on pupil illness 

All pupils are expected: 

• To come to school every day and aim to have 100% attendance. 
• 100% attendance is essential to guarantee the highest possible achievement and gain the most from the school’s personal development opportunities. 
• It is really important that students come to school on time every day.

Why does attendance matter? 

There is a direct link between positive attendance and exam success.

The higher the number of school days missed, the lower the level of attainment. Using national statistics, where pupils had 100% attendance at school, 83.7% achieved grades 9 to 4 in English and Maths, compared to only 35.6% achievement of grades 9 to 4 for pupils who had an attendance of 90% or below.