Key Dates: 

Last Day of Term: Friday 20th December 2024; Students Dismissed at 12:20pm

INSET Day: Monday 6th January 2025; School closed to students

Start of Term: Tuesday 7th January 2025; School starts promptly at 8:30am on all year groups on a Week A timetable. 

 

Attendance and Punctuality

Regular attendance is extremely important for student achievement, it is also a legal requirement. In line with the expectations of the world of work, we place a high value on punctuality, which should become a habit for life. We have two Attendance Improvement Officers to monitor attendance and punctuality.

Fostering good attendance is a shared responsibility between us and yourselves and we do ask for your support with regard to this. Your child’­s attendance figures will form part of your child’­s Record of Achievement. Employers and colleges always ask for information regarding a pupil’­s attendance and punctuality.

Good punctuality is expected at all times and we do ask parents to confine routine dental and hospital visits to holidays or after the learning day. At no time will your child be allowed to leave the premises without written permission from you.

Absences

What to do if your child is unable to attend:

  • Please contact us every day of your child's absence giving the reason and the expected date of return. By phone: 0333 360 2200 and selecting Option 1 and then choosing 2 for Year 7,8 and 9 students and 3 for Year 10 and 11.

What to do when your child returns:

  • Please provide an absence note, even though you telephoned previously, giving a reason for and the dates of the absence.

We have an electronic system of contacting parents if their child is absent and no reason has been given.

 

Authorised And Unauthorised Absences

Please note that only the Principal can authorise absence for exceptional circumstances.
Exceptional circumstances would include the following:

  • Illness
  • Unavoidable medical appointment
  • Recognised religious observance
  • Funerals
  • Traumatic events.

For NHS guidance on whether your child is well enough to attend school, please click here.

Should you wish to request leave of absence please ask your child to collect the relevant forms from reception and when completed, return to the Principal.
Truancy or unauthorised absence includes time off for:

  • Shopping
  • Birthdays
  • Looking after other family members
  • Taking all your children to appointments when it only relates to one child
  • Waiting in for trades people
  • Family holidays
  • Unapproved sporting events
  • Any time off when no reason is given
  • Visiting relatives
  • Getting up late
  • Missing the bus
  • Poor weather – unless authorised by school
  • Days out.

Attendance figures

We have set an attendance target of 96%.

Your child will also have their own personal attendance target set by their tutor.

 

Improving Punctuality

All pupils must be on site by 8.30am at the latest.

  • If your child catches a local bus, the responsibility will be on you as parent/carer to prove that they were late because of problems with the buses.
  • If your child walks, the responsibility is on you as parent/carer to provide a satisfactory reason for their lateness.
  • If you bring your child in a car, it is your responsibility to ensure that enough time is given for the journey to prevent lateness.

Failure to provide satisfactory proof of lateness will result in detentions in the first instance, followed by parental interviews, then involvement from the Educational Welfare Officer.

Please note that lateness is classed as truancy and can lead to court action.

 

How can you help?

  1. Encourage your child to attend on time every day.
  2. Contact your child’­s Head of Year if you are having problems getting your child to attend. We are here to help.
  3. Take your holidays only during holiday time.
  4. Try and avoid having medical appointments during the learning day. We do finish school at 15:00.

All educational establishments are required to publish figures for authorised and unauthorised absences. We are trying to reduce our unauthorised absence by contacting parents each morning if their child fails to attend. We will also send out a copy of your child’s attendance with their annual report as well as discussing it with you at Parents’­ Evening.

We liaise closely with our Education Welfare Officer and they will become involved with those families whose children have poor levels of attendance. It may sometimes be necessary to take court action.