
Be Ambitious for the
Higher Gifts
(St. Paul 12:31)
Attendance & Punctuality
School that matters: a curriculum of excellence and a culture of belonging.
We believe that every child should feel that school matters to them, where they feel they belong and where they can thrive and achieve. This is the basis of good attendance, that young people find a sense of purpose and feel both safe and successful in school.
It is a school priority to prioritise wellbeing and relationships to set the conditions for great attendance every day for all, especially for disadvantaged pupils.
We are blessed with attendance that is higher than both local and national averages. This is because we work hard with families and young people to understand what is making attendance difficult and to try to remove those barriers. In doing so we work closely with a range of external partners and we have dedicated team of staff in school who focus on attendance, although we also believe that everyone is responsible for creating a culture of good attendance.
We are very careful to be compassionate, understanding and open to new ideas when addressing low attendance. Staff will work with famiies without judgment and fcoused on finding solutions.
We expect everyone in school on time, and everyone to be punctual to every lesson. If and when a young person’s attendance drops below 97% we take proportionate and appropriate action. Every young person in our care is entitled to a high quality of education and a school culture that is calm, safe and encourages participation and high attendance.
Through the development and promotion of strong relationships between young people, school staff and families, not ‘blame and shame.’ We will be driven by professional curiosity to understand the reasons behind barriers to attendance in order to address this effectively and with kindness.
On occasions fines for holidays (unless exceptional) will be necessary, but we aim to avoid all other fines – support, encouragement, understanding and strong relationships work better.
For every absence we make a First Day call or text from the Attendance Team, followed by form tutor call if required after three days. Where there is no response to our first day call we will follow this up to ensure that the child is safe. All calls are recorded on our Synergy system.
Late-coming at the start of the school day and to lessons, as well as any instances of internal truancy, are dealt with as attendance issues.
We monitor carefully morning lates after register closes at 9:15am – these are recorded daily and reported to SLT and pastoral team. An overview is kept by senior leaders to identify patterns and put in place actions.
Arrival after register closes at 9:15am results in an immediate phone call home, and is monitored and reported daily.
Attendance communication is positive, solution-focused, supportive and ambitious; celebration is proportionate – there no ‘rewards’ for 100% attendance, but we do recognise young people for improvements.
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