Attendance Officer
Ms E Horder
Assistant Headteacher
Ms K Morrison
Deputy Headteacher
Mr G Ferrar
As part of Heathcote School’s commitment to developing life-long skills in all its learners as well as ensuring every learner has the greatest chance of success, punctuality and attendance is monitored closely.
As a school we aim to work in partnership with Governors, Parents and Carers, the Educational Welfare Services and other professionals to support our pupils in maximising their attendance at school.
WHY IS ATTENDANCE IMPORTANT?
- 100% attendance over 5 years gives your child half a year more education than a pupil on 90% attendance, and 3 months more education than a pupil on 95% attendance.
- Missed days means pupils fall behind their peers and underachieve.
- There is a direct correlation between attendance and academic success (as indicated in the table below)
| Attendance % | Equivalent days off per month | Percentage of pupils nationally achieving at least 5 good GCSE’s including Maths and English. |
| 100% | 0 | 72% |
| 95% | 1 | 52% |
| 90% | 2 | 22% |
| 85% | 3 | 14% |
WHY IS PUNCTUALITY IMPORTANT?
| 5 minutes late each day | = 3 days lost in a school year |
| 10 minutes late each day | = 6.5 days lost in a school year |
| 15 minutes late each day | = 10 days lost in a school year |
| 20 minutes late each day | = 13 days lost in a school year |
| 30 minutes late each day | = 19 days lost in a school year |
IF YOUR CHILD IS UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING AT SCHOOL AND YOU ARE UNSURE IF THEY SHOULD COME IN
Send them in with a letter/note explaining the concerns or send them to school telling them to report to their Head of Year and contact the school by phone and explain the situation. Their Head of Year will get in touch with you to discuss the issue. Keeping them off school will risk making the issue worse and not allow us to resolve the issue.
PARENTS SHOULD NOT TAKE PUPILS ON HOLIDAY DURING TERM TIME
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Amendments made to the 2006 regulations in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 came into force on the 1st of September 2013, and prohibited the Headteacher from granting any leave of absence unless in exceptional circumstances. This includes a family holiday taken during term time. If you consider there are exceptional circumstances, you must make a written request to the headteacher in advance.
Request to authorise absence from school due to exceptional circumstances
Schools are only able to authorise absence from school in exceptional circumstances. In making a request for an authorised absence from school you will need to explain why the circumstances are exceptional and include any relevant evidence. Please ensure you complete the absence request form no less than 10 working days before the requested absence. Please note: There is no general right to authorise absence for a family holiday. If you take your child out of school without permission the absence will be unauthorised and we will consider legal action.
You are advised not to make any arrangements until your request has been considered. We will respond to your request in writing.
YOUR DUTY AS A PARENT
You are legally responsible for making sure your child attends school regularly.
You must:
- Be fully supportive of the school with regards to attendance and punctuality.
- Ensure your child attends schools every day, on time and is prepared for the day.
- Ensure holidays are taken during non-term time and where possible dental and medical appointments are not taken during the school day.
Contact the school immediately if there are issues that may affect your child’s attendance or wellbeing.
RUNNING LATE?
Please let us know as early as possible, preferably by 9am.
The school gates open at 8.25am and we expect your child to be in class by 8.40am at the latest. Any time after 8.40am pupils will be marked as late.
At 9.05am the registers will be closed. If your child arrives after that time they will receive a mark that shows them to be on site, but this will not count as a present mark and it will mean they have an unauthorised absence for the morning.
IF YOUR CHILD IS GOING TO BE ABSENT FROM SCHOOL
Contact us as soon as possible on each day of absence; ring the school on 0208 498 5110. Please leave a clear message with the following information:
- Pupils full name
- Pupils tutor group
- Reason for absence
- Action you will taking due to this absence (e.g. taking your child to the doctors)
- Date when your child will return to school.
Send a note in on the first day they return with an explanation of the absence – you must do this even if you have already telephoned us; this can be a letter or a signed and dated note.
IF YOUR CHILD NEEDS A MEDICAL APPOINTMENT
Schedule appointments after school where possible, or during the school holidays. Appointments during school hours should only result in absence for the appointment time and reasonable travel time. Pupils should be in school before and following the appointment if possible. You must provide medical evidence for your child’s appointment for the absence to be authorised. Evidence could be an appointment card/letter or note from the doctor.
IF ATTENDANCE MEETS EXPECTATIONS
- Your child will achieve on average better academic achievements than those with lower attendance.
- Your child will be rewarded through a variety of means.
- Your child will have the opportunity to represent the school at activities.
IF ATTENDANCE DOES NOT MEET EXPECTATIONS
- The school will make contact to understand the reason for absence.
- Hold a parental meeting to discuss how to improve attendance.
- Carry out a home visit.
- Make a referral to our legal Educational Welfare Officer
- Make recommendations for legal planning and action that could lead to a fine or imprisonment.
Please refer to our Attendance Policy, which can be found on our website for more information.
The 100% Attendance Club
Maintaining an attendance record of 100% is a brilliant achievement and one that we are delighted to reward and celebrate. Pupils who achieve 100% attendance will be given a much deserved place in the 100% Attendance Club. Membership of the club entitles pupils to a range of rewards, including celebration activities, pizza parties and an end of year trip.
A 100% Attendance Club pin badge is presented to pupils when they enter the club. It is expected that this badge is worn with pride, on the school jumper, at all times around the School. This is a pupil’s pass to a raft of rewards and treats including a specially allocated queue in the dining room, ensuring priority and speedy serving at lunch and break times. If any pupil is found to be abusing the badge, for example by loaning it to another pupil, the privilege of being in the 100% Club will be removed.
After October half term, we will welcome to the club every pupil that has achieved 100% attendance during the first half term of the year. Pupils stay in the club and experience all the perks that go alongside this for as long as they maintain 100% attendance. This will be reviewed by the Attendance Team and any pupil who drops below 100% will hand their pin badge back to school.
Exceptional Circumstances
We recognise 100% Attendance as being a huge achievement and one that needs significant reward and celebration! Therefore, only pupils with 100% Attendance will be granted access to the club. The 100% attendance club is a reward for those pupils who show resilience and excellent attitudes to school. We do, however, recognise that in some cases, absence from school is unavoidable. Examples include pupils being absent from school:
- to mark a religious observance, including attending the wedding of an immediate family member
- to attend a specialist medical appointment related to a lifelong medical condition.
- to grieve for, and attend a funeral of an immediate family member.
In all cases where a parent / carer is seeking an exception to be made, the Deputy Head Teacher must authorise this. Please complete an ‘Exceptional Circumstances form’ and return to the school by email or post.
Pupils who make significant improvements to their attendance will be able to access some of the same rewards given to those in the 100% Attendance Club as part of the Resilient Club. This will be launched in January at the start of the Spring Term. The Attendance Team may, when appropriate, also provide incentives and rewards specifically targeted to individuals or groups where it is seen fit.