Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance and Punctuality

Why attendance is important

Good attendance contributes to:

• • • Personal and social development
    • Continuity of learning – making retention and progress easier
    • Success in tests and examinations
    • Fulfilment of coursework requirements
    • Good references for further education or employment
    • A reputation for reliability

If your child is absent from school

If your child is absent you must:

• • • Contact the school as early as possible on the first day of absence, either by telephone or in person, by no later than 09:30am, and;
    • Send a note in on the first day they return with an explanation of the absence.
    • If sickness absence is for three days or more we will require medical evidence in the form of a doctor’s note, copy of the prescription or label from prescribed medicine. However if the student is a persistent absentee we may require medical evidence from the first day.
    • Where medical/dental appointments cannot be arranged outside of school hours, students are expected to attend school either before or after the appointment time.  Whole days will not be authorised where this is unnecessary and appointment cards/letters or screen shots of planned appointments are required.
    • Minor illnesses/complaints (i.e. headaches, colds, tummy pains, etc) are not acceptable reasons for absences and we ask that students come into school following the appropriate medications/remedies and can be monitored by our school nurse if required.

Contact details

Please contact Ms Annam Mirza, Attendance Team Leader on [email protected] regarding your child’s absence.  General queries should be directed to the Attendance Team on [email protected].

Punctuality 

Arriving punctually at school every day is essential for students to achieve their full educational potential.  It is also vital for students to form good habits for later life.  Punctuality records form part of references passed onto employers, further educational institutes and higher educational institutes.  All students are expected to arrive punctually for school in the morning and to arrive punctually for each lesson.  A register is taken at the start of the day and during each lesson.  Students arriving late are recorded as such on the register, along with how many minutes late they are.

We place a strong emphasis on ensuring that our students arrive on time by:

• • • Giving sanctions to students who arrive late to school or lessons.
    • Informing parents if their child arrives late for school.
    • Awarding achievements points to tutor groups where all students have arrived punctually over a period of time.
    • Sending attendance records home to parents each term, so that parents can monitor any lateness.
    • Addressing issues of poor time keeping with individual students and their parents.

Parent/Carer support 

We ask parents to support us in maintaining punctual arrival and good attendance by:

• • • Ensuring that their children get up in plenty of time to be ready and prepared for school.
    • Ensuring their child has organised their bag and equipment the night before so that this does not delay departure in the morning.
    • Discussing any issues of lateness to ensure this does not become a habit.
    • Monitoring their child’s attendance record when it is sent home and looking for patterns of lateness.

Lateness to school

At school, we have both a morning and an afternoon registration session.  It is a legal requirement to take registers, which are submitted to the DfE.  At both sessions, registers remain open for 20 minutes.

The morning registration period will start at 8.25 a.m. and end at 8.50 a.m.  The school day starts at 08:30 a.m.
The afternoon registration period for Y8 and Y10 will start at 12.35pm and end at 12.55pm. For Y7, Y9 and Y11 it will start at 1.20 p.m. and end at 1.40 p.m.

Pupils arriving before the end of the registration period will be coded L (Late before registers close), which is a present mark. The number of minutes late will be recorded in the register, and they will receive a same day 30 minute detention.  Pupils arriving after the registers have closed will be coded U (late after registers close) which counts as an unauthorised absence. This student will also receive a 60 minute after school detention on the day.  Additional information regarding absence codes can be found in the Attendance Policy linked to above.

Applications for leave of absence in term time

This school’s policy is not to authorise holidays during term time. Any application for leave during term time must be made in writing to the Headteacher, who may authorise a leave of absence during term time in the most exceptional circumstances.  There is no automatic right to term time leave of absence, and your request is likely to be declined except in the most exceptional of circumstances.  Each application will be considered on its own merit, and the attendance record of the child or children will be taken into account when making the decision.

Please note that submission of the written request does not guarantee approval for the term time absence.  You will be notified by the school if your request has been approved. As a school we are asked to inform you that, in line with the London Borough of Newham’s Policy, any unauthorised absence during term time is likely to result in the issue of a Penalty Notice.  A Penalty Notice requires each parent to pay a fine of £60 per child, increasing to £120 each, if it is not paid within 21 days. If this fine is not paid within 28 days this may lead to court proceedings under S.444(1) of the Education Act 1996.