Student Attendance

Electronic Registration

A register is taken every morning, afternoon and at the start of every lesson. The information collected is sent to the office electronically and is used to collect attendance and punctuality figures and for our attendance officer to make first day calls. Students with 100% attendance are rewarded with termly attendance certificates. Weekly attendance figures for each form are published and each Head of Year will announce these in assembly. Our target is to ensure the best possible attendance by all of our students so it is very important for us all to work hard to achieve this. We hope that parents will only allow children to stay at home when they are too ill to cope with a full day in school.

Absence from School

All absences should be reported to school as early as possible on the first day of absence either by telephoning the school absence line on 01206 575488 Option 1 or via email to [email protected]. If only one day’s absence has occurred, then a phone call/email is sufficient. However, if your child is likely to be absent for more than one day, then a phone call/email to the school should be made on the first day informing us of the expected return to school date. If we do not receive a call from you, one of our office staff will message you to gain an update during the school day.

Application for Leave of Absence

Leave of absence may only be granted by the Headteacher of the school. As from 1st September 2013 the Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment) Regulations 2013 amended Regulation 7 to prohibit the Headteacher of a school from granting leave of absence to a pupil, except where an advance application has been made by the parent with whom the pupil normally resides, and the Headteacher considers that there are exceptional circumstances.

Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress. A pupil who takes 10 days absence will only attain 94.7% attendance in the year. 10 days absence also means the pupil will miss 50 hours of education.

There is no entitlement to parents to take their child out of school during term time. However, you may apply to the school for leave of absence if you believe there are exceptional circumstances.

If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken, the case will be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may issue a Penalty Notice for £160 (or £80 if paid within 21 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school.