Attendance

The Importance of Excellent Attendance

Atherton High School is committed to a positive policy of encouraging pupils to attend school regularly. The school works in partnership with parents/carers, the Local Authority Education Welfare Officers and other relevant services to secure this aim.

The happiness and educational progress of all our students is a high priority and we believe that good attendance is a significant contributing factor in which these priorities can be achieved. When your child is absent from school, they miss important curriculum content which underpins the breadth of study, resulting in attainment and knowledge gaps affecting future learning and progress. It is for this reason that we ask for your support in this matter.

Attendance at a glance for Parents and Carers

We would like all students to attend school for more than 98% + of the time. We know that high attendance and achieving academic potential are linked. Punctuality is also very important at the school. All students must arrive on time and be ready for learning with the correct equipment, for students who have not had breakfast this is available in the canteen from 8.00am – 8.15am.

Should your child be too ill to attend the school, please contact us on the first day of absence wherever possible before 8:20am, tel no: 01942 885500 Please keep us informed daily of your child’s progress. If you expect your child to be absent, please send in evidence of medication prescribed by your doctor or hospital. The school has a right to request evidence of illness or appointments to authorise the absence. This can be the school medical card stamped by your G.P or an appointment card from your G.P or medical centre. Should we not receive medical evidence, absences will be noted as unauthorised. Where attendance levels are of concern and monitoring is in place, medical evidence will be required for all absences. Telephone calls are made to every parent/carer of a student who is absent from the school every morning. If we cannot make contact, a text message will be sent. In some cases a follow up home visit may be made by the school Attendance Team.

Why is high attendance important to my child’s education? 

As a parent/carer you want the best for your children. Having a good education is an important factor in opening up more opportunities in adult life.

• A child who is absent from school a day per week misses an equivalent of two years of their school life
• 90% of young people with absence rates below 85% fail to achieve five or more good grades of GCSE and around one third achieve no GCSEs at all
• Poor examination results limit young people’s options and poor attendance suggests to colleges and employers that these students are unreliable

GCSEs may seem a long way off for you and your child but all absence at any stage leads to gaps in your child’s learning. This in turn can:

• mean that they fall behind in work
• affect their motivation
• affect their enjoyment of learning
• lead to poor behaviour
• affect their desire to attend school regularly
• affect their confidence in school
• mean they miss out on the social life of school and extra curricular opportunities and experiences
• affect their ability to have or keep friendships

Our Attendance Ambition

• Our School expects all pupils to aim for 100% attendance.
• 98% attendance is regarded as good and should be achieved with an average amount of illness.
• Any attendance level that creates a cause for concern would initiate intervention by the school. This could be a phone call with the head of year or may, in more severe circumstances, lead to the involvement of agencies outside of the school.

• We will closely monitor attendance and we will inform you if your child’s attendance falls below 95%.
• Attendance that falls below 90% is classed as persistent absence (PA) and if this occurs, we will request a meeting to discuss the reasons why your child’s attendance continues to be below the expected minimum.

• Our school works with the Wigan Council attendance team to support and promote excellent school attendance

Legal process and information for parents:

Regular and punctual attendance at school is both a legal requirement and essential for pupils to maximise their educational opportunities.

Sanctions of any nature are for use only where parental co-operation in this process is either absent or deemed insufficient to resolve the presenting problem. They are never used as a punishment, only as a means of enforcing attendance where there is a reasonable expectation that their use will secure an improvement.

Penalty Notices

A penalty notice can be issued to parents or carers who don’t ensure that their child goes to school on a regular basis. The penalty notice is £160 per parent per child. If paid within 21 days this is reduced to £80 per parent per child for a first offence.

The issuing of a Penalty Notice is appropriate in the following circumstances:

• following 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a term
• parentally condoned absences
• unauthorised leave of absence in term- time
• late arrival at school after the register has closed

Links to:

EPN Code of Conduct

EPN Information for Parents

Escalation to enforcement via the attendance pathway

In some cases, school can request a case is escalated to the attendance enforcement team where school support has been offered but attendance has failed to improve. School will evidence the support offered and the Local Authority will make the decision if the criteria is met for enforcement action.

If you are prosecuted and found guilty of not securing your child’s attendance at school, the court can impose penalties, including a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence of up to 3 months.

Punctuality to School 

All students should arrive on the school site by 8:20am – any student arriving after 8:31am will be marked as late. Lateness means we lose valuable learning time and the sanction is a school detention. Please see the table below for our graduated response to punctuality issues. Parents/carers will be informed via classcharts regarding pending detentions. Repeated lateness to school will result in a parent/staff panel meeting.

Illness and Accidents Procedures

1. If a student feels ill or has an accident, they should tell their teacher, form tutor or any other staff member if they are not in a lesson.
2. If a student has an accident they will be looked after by a qualified First Aider.
3. If a student feels unwell a qualified First Aider will come to the classroom to assess the situation.
4. If a student is unable to continue lessons, a family member/guardian will be contacted by the school before they are allowed to go home.
5. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should a student leave the school site without prior permission or with an appropriate adult.
6. If a student has been given permission to leave, they must REMEMBER to sign out using the inventory system in reception.

Leaving Site

Students should be on the school site at all times during the school day unless there is a specific reason for leaving. They will need written permission from a parent/carer and must complete the signing out process in Reception.

Procedures

1. If a student has an appointment with the doctor or dentist, they must bring a letter from their parent/carer. Ideally these appointments should try to be arranged outside of school hours.
2. To get permission to leave site, students should see the Attendance Lead Miss Hepworth. If she is not available, then they should speak to their HoY.
3. If a student is leaving school during a lesson, please let the specific class teacher know at the start of the lesson.
4. As students leave the premises they must sign out electronically in the Reception area.
5. If a student returns, report to Reception and sign in before going to lessons.

Health and Safety

All students will be responsible for:

• Complying with school rules and procedures.
• Taking reasonable care of themselves and others.
• Co-operating with their teachers and other school staff.
• Using equipment and substances in the manner in which they are instructed.
• Not misusing anything they believe to be hazardous or dangerous.