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Attendance and Punctuality

 

To read this letter in full, Please click this link.

PUNCTUALITY

What you can do:
  • Have a regular routine for the start of each day.
  • Help your child get their clothes and equipment ready before they go to bed.
  • Set a reasonable bedtime to make sure they get enough sleep.
If your child arrives late for class:
  • They miss out on important learning, which could affect their achievement.
  • They do not have the social time to settle into class.
  • It can be embarrassing for them.
  • They may disrupt the learning of the rest of the class.

Please arrange to speak to Miss Longvill if you require any support or guidance.

 

Attendance

The link between attendance and attainment is clear:

  • In 2018/19, just 40% of persistently absent (PA) children in KS2 achieved expected KS2 standards, compared with 84% of pupils who regularly attended school.
  • 36% of PA children in KS4 got 9 to 4 in their English and maths GCSEs, compared with 84% of regular attenders.1

And it’s never too late to benefit from good attendance:

  • More than half (54%) of pupils who were PA in Year 10 and then rarely absent in Year 11, passed at least 5 GCSEs, compared to 36% of pupils who were persistently absent in both years.2

But attendance is important for more than just attainment:

  • Regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing.3

1: The link between absence and attainment at KS2 and KS4, Academic year 2018/19 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)

2: Missing Children, Missing Grades | Children's Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

3: Mental Health and Attendance at School (Chapter 1) - Mental Health and Attendance at School (cambridge.org)

 

 

Persistent absence is where a pupil misses 10% or more of school, and severe absence is where a pupil misses 50% or more of school.

The school will:

  • Use attendance data to find patterns and trends of persistent and severe absence.
  • Hold regular meetings with the parents of pupils who the school considers to be vulnerable, or are persistently or severely absent, to discuss attendance and engagement at school.
  • Provide access to wider support services to remove the barriers to attendance through Early Help
Specific strategies to be used:
  • Text to be sent to the parent of any child who is below the national average.
  • Informal meeting between parents and the Pastoral Manager.
  • Letter from the Pastoral Manager to be sent outlining the importance of good attendance.
  • Formal letter requesting a meeting with the Designated Senior Lead for Attendance.
  • School Attendance Review Meeting.
  • Legal action will be taken in extreme cases.

 

Unacceptable reasons for leave of absence

It is not acceptable to assume your child can have days out of school for the following events;

  • Moving House
  • Funerals
  • New babies
  • Other child in family is sick and parent cannot get other child to school
  • Parent on holiday and child staying with a relative – relative cannot bring child to school– it is expected that other arrangements are made with family members/neighbours/friends to bring your child to school
  • Parent sick on a long-term basis and cannot get child to school – it is expected that other arrangements are made with family members/neighbours/friends to bring your child to school
  • Inclement weather i.e. severe snow – if you live within a 1 mile radius of the school, unless there is a babe in arms in the household, or you live in a remote setting, you are expected to get your child to school

Other unauthorised reasons are:

  • Buying new school shoes/summer uniform because parents forgot to do it in the holidays
  • Parent/Carer/sibling being sick/illness
  • Going on holiday early to avoid traffic/holidays are cheaper in term time
  • Waiting in for the builder’s/Gas man/delivery driver to arrive
  • 'Only Year 11 matters’
  • Withdrawing your child from school when alternative arrangements have been made to address the reasons, they are unable to attend or take part in a specific lesson or event
Birmingham City Council - National Framework for Penalty Notices for school absence 

Birmingham City Council has put a letter together to inform all parents about the new national penalty notice framework which comes into effect on the 19th August 2024. Please click here for the letter from Sue Harrison, Strategic Director of Children and Families. 
There is a useful FAQs sheet to help too, please click here.