Attendance

It is more important than ever to have a good education behind you if you want opportunities in adult life. Children only get one chance at school, and your child’s chances of a successful future may be affected by not attending school or alternative provision regularly.

If children do not attend school regularly they may:

  • Struggle to keep up with school work. In a busy school day it is difficult for schools to find the extra time to help a child catch up
  • Miss out on the social side of school life. Poor attendance can affect children’s ability to make and keep friendships; a vital part of growing up

Setting good attendance patterns from an early age will also help your child later on. Employers want to recruit people who are reliable. So children who have a poor school attendance record may have less chance of getting a good job. Being on time is also vital. Arriving late at school can be very disruptive for your child, the teacher, and the other children in the class. Some parents may be trying but finding it hard to get their children to attend school.
 

Attending school everyday!

9 days of absence

19 days of absence

28 days of absence

38 days of absence

More than half a term missed per year or 2 full years missed over the course of their school career

46 days of absence

9 weeks and 1 day of learning missed. Attendance figures are not like examination results. An attendance percentage needs to be in the high 90’s before it can be considered good.

Consider the following example
Jane is in Year 7.
Her attendance is around 90%.
She thinks this is fairly good.
However...

90% attendance means that she is absent from lessons for the equivalent of one half day every week. If it stays at 90% in Y7, she will miss the equivalent of one four whole weeks. If Jane then continues the pattern over the five years she will miss the equivalent of about one half of a school year.

Research suggests that 17 missed school days a year equals one GCSE grade drop in achievement. Each year, a number of our students in every year group achieve 100% attendance records, showing that this is an achievable target. In addition, a number of students have achieved this level of attendance in successive years.