Registration is taken twice daily to record student attendance:

Morning Registration is at 8:55am
Afternoon Registration is at 2:15pm

Lateness.

It is vital that any student who is late or has had a medical appointment signs in at Student Services. A letter of explanation or an appointment card is needed when lateness or absence is due to medical appointments.

What should parents do if their child is absent?

Contact the School before 9.30am, either by phone on 01908 563468 or use the form [ here ]

The phone line has an answer phone option (option 1) and is open 24 hours a day to deal with attendance. Please state clearly:

• Your child’s name;
• Tutor group;
• The reason for absence;
• The expected date of return.

Please follow this up with a note which can be given in at Student Services or returned to Student Services via the form tutor.

What the School will do if your child is absent:-

If we have not heard from you we will contact you on the first day of absence.

• [ letter-to-year-7 ]
• [ letter-to-years-8-to-11 ]
• [ attendance-ladder ]
• [ whole-school-escalation-system ]

Attendance Information

Students whose attendance is good:

• Understand lessons better
• Achieve better results
• Expect to get higher paid jobs and careers
• Stand less chance of being drawn into criminal activity
• Sustain friendships

‘Good’ attendance means:
100% attendance—when a student arrives on time and attends every lesson every day.

Students whose attendance is unsatisfactory:

• Get behind with their work
• Struggle to catch up with work
• Don’t understand lessons so well
• Achieve less
• Get worse jobs
• Are more likely to be drawn into criminal activity
• Find it difficult to maintain friendship groups

Unsatisfactory attendance means:
Attending 95% of the time or less, which will have a serious affect on learning.

One day’s absence every two weeks will give 90% attendance. A 90% average over Year 7 to Year 11 results in a student missing half a year of schooling.

Why attendance is important:

Every child has a right to receive full time education. Parents or carers are responsible for ensuring this. The Education Act 1996 states: ‘If a child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at school fails to attend regularly at that school then his/her parent is guilty of an offence. Penalties can be imposed by the courts on parents who do not ensure their child attends school regularly.

What does ‘unsatisfactory’ attendance mean?

• Attending 95% of the time or less.
• This will have a serious effect on learning.
• One day’s absence every two weeks will give 90% attendance. A 90% average over Year 7 to Year 11 results in a student missing half a year of schooling.

Reasons for Absence:

Authorised (by School).

• Genuine illness resulting in unavoidable absence
• Religious observance
• Approved educational visit
• A severe family crisis (i.e. death in close family)

Unauthorised.
Absence for these reasons is unacceptable:-

• Shopping
• Oversleeping
• Having a birthday
• Staying at home for deliveries/workmen
• Looking after younger siblings

Please note:-
Medical and Dental appointments should be made for after school hours.

Holidays.

It is the policy to discourage students from taking holidays in term time as absence lowers achievement. Leave of absence will only be considered if the following criteria are met:-

• Current attendance rate is above 95%
• It is impossible to take the leave of absence in normal school holidays.
• All students work is up to date.