Attendance & Punctuality

Good attendance at school is important for academic progress, social interaction with peers and the opportunity to participate in clubs and try new activities. Academic studies have shown a direct link between attendance and progress towards GCSE grades. 19 days of school missed per year (attendance of 90%) equals one GCSE grade dropped on average.

Excellent attendance is proven to be a substantial and fundamental factor in every student’s chances of achieving success in school. Regular and punctual attendance not only ensures the continuity of and access to substantive teaching and learning, but minimises disruption to individual lessons and collective programmes of study.

What does Good Attendance look like?

If a student does not attend school or is not taking part in an approved educational activity, they are classed as absent from school. This means that if your child is off school for any reason, even if they are ill or have medical permission to be off school, they are classed as absent.

Less than 95% attendance every year in school equals one GCSE grade dropped on average. Consequently, all students at The County High School, Leftwich should aspire to achieve 100% attendance, if they are to fulfil their learning potential. Good attendance is also useful preparation for the workplace, where an absence rate of 5% or above would be considered a cause for concern.

 

**Research suggests that 17 missed school days a year = 1 GCSE grade drop across ALL subjects.

 

PLEASE BE AWARE – Even if an absence is authorized attendance % is still affected

At The County High School, Leftwich we are committed to sustained, high year-on-year attendance and we believe students and parents/carers can make a significant contribution to this by building supportive partnerships with school. Our parents and carers are key facilitators in ensuring students are encouraged to have strong attendance and punctuality. In short, the importance of your role cannot be overstated.

Processes

Electronic registration enables our staff at all levels to contribute to a culture that is responsive to and rewards positive attendance. More importantly, accurate registration information provides an early warning system for use in intervention and support for those students and families for whom poor attendance is an emerging or ongoing problem.

We have a legal responsibility to complete formal registrations for the morning and afternoon session of school, in order to meet statutory responsibilities to parents/carers and other agencies in providing accurate punctuality information about individual students and school cohorts.

Is My Child Too Ill for School:

It is usually appropriate for parents and carers to send their children to school with mild respiratory illnesses. This would include general cold symptoms: a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat. However, children should not be sent to school if they have a temperature of 38°C or above. 

Please seek reassurance from the NHS ‘Is my child too ill for school?’ guidance for further information. 

Reporting Absence:

We ask you to contact the Pastoral Office directly (01606 333313) to explain a student’s absence. We kindly request you do this before the start of the school day at 8:45am.

Monitoring and Rewards

Attendance and punctuality are rewarded every two weeks. Those students who have managed two weeks of full attendance with no lates are placed into a Year Leader draw. Students can win various prizes as a result of their excellent attendance and punctuality.

Unavoidable Time Off

We ask our parents/carers not to keep students off school unless the absence is absolutely unavoidable. Where this is the case please can parents/carers:

  • Contact school on the first day of absence to provide a reason for non-attendance.
  • Request leave of absence in term time for exceptional circumstance only by completing a form.
  • Work with the school and any other agency to resolve any difficulties which may affect regular school attendance.

Holidays During Term Time

At the County High School, Leftwich, we do not expect holidays to be taken in term time as this has an impact on students’ progress. Leave of absence can be requested, however it will be authorised only in exceptional circumstances.

Please be aware that if you choose to take a holiday with your child during term time, the Local Authority will be informed. A Fixed Penalty Notice will then be issued in accordance with section 444 of the Education Act 1996. The amount of the penalty is £60 per parent/carer if paid within 21 days, increasing thereafter if left unpaid.

Punctuality Matters

Lateness to school has a negative contribution towards student progress and is something that we take extremely seriously at The County High School, Leftwich. Through ‘InTouch’ and progress reports you will be provided with your child’s punctuality data throughout the year. The aim of this system is to keep parents/ carers well informed on when their child is late, and further strengthen the links between home and school. Similar to attendance, punctuality is important to learning and progress for students and over time, can have a detrimental effect on the results your child achieves.

Below is a graph showing how being late to school everyday, over a school year, adds up to lost learning time.