As a school, we see the importance of good school attendance. Good school attendance helps the life chances of children by developing healthy habits, improving progress and grades, and overall giving them a better chance of achieving their full potential. Learners that have excellent attendance also feel more connected to their peers, develop important social skills and friendships and longer term are significantly more likely to make strong progress, achieve excellent qualifications and the skills ready for the world of work. Encouraging and ensuring your child / children regularly attend school is one of the most powerful ways you can support them.
Well respected research clearly shows the impact of strong attendance on the life chances of your child/children:
| Attendance | Outcome and Impact |
| 95 – 100% | Best chance of success. Your child is taking full advantage of every learning opportunity. 73% chance of achieving five or more GCSE or equivalent grades at A* – C. |
| 90 – 95% | At least 2 weeks of learning missed. Satisfactory. Your child may have to spend time catching up with work. Drop of one grade in each GCSE (or equivalent) subject studied. |
| 85 – 90% | At least 4 weeks of learning missed. Your child may be at risk of underachieving and may need extra support from you to catch up with work. Only 35% of learners will achieve five or more grades at A* – C at GCSE or equivalent. |
| 80 – 85% | At least 5 ½ weeks of learning missed. Your child’s poor attendance has a significant impact on learning. |
| Below 80% attendance | At least 7 ½ weeks of learning missed. Your child is missing out on a broad and balanced education. You are at risk of prosecution. |
As a school we have discussed our attendance target for 2022/23 with the school governors, staff and our Education Welfare Officer and have set our aspirational target at 95.5%. Working together, we are confident that we can achieve this. If you have any concerns regarding the attendance of your child, please contact us as a school so that we can work together to achieve the best for all our learners. Please ensure that you notify us immediately of any non-attendance if your child is ill. Punctuality to school and lessons is also very important and sets good practices for future working life.
Remember:
- it is a parents’ duty to send their child to school regularly,
- the schools’ responsibility to record attendance and follow up absence, and
- the local authority responsibility to provide a clear attendance pathway for all schools and to use legal sanctions, including penalty notices and prosecution in court.