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Your Attendance Matters
Excellent attendance and punctuality are essential for your child’s academic success and overall well-being. We are committed to working closely with families to minimize missed learning time. To ensure this, we have implemented policies regarding attendance, punctuality, and leave of absence. These policies align with government guidelines and aim to support your child’s educational journey.
ATTAINMENT
Studies show a direct correlation between high attendance and better academic performance.
Students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve higher grades, pass their exams and develop the skills required for further education and employment. If we work together to ensure the regular attendance of our students, we expose them to the entire curriculum, all assessments and interventions, and help to strengthen their relationships with peers.
Some positive stats regarding attendance 2024-2025
Last year…
- Our whole school attendance was 1% higher than the National Average
- Our number of persistently absent students was 1.3% lower than National Average
- We won 2 Attendance Awards from FFT for being in the top 25% of secondary schools
- FFT figures show that attendance of our SEND students was 5.2% above National Average
- Our SEND student attendance was also 4.9% higher than the average for the West Midlands
Penalty notice fines for unauthorised leaves of absence have changed
The following changes came into force from 19th August 2024
Please follow the link below for more information on the government guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s Pastoral Year Officer as soon as you believe there is an issue. Early intervention is key to preventing a situation from escalating. Call Reception on 01827 831300, or email office@wilnecotehighschool.org and your concern will be directed to the appropriate member of staff.
Wherever possible these should be made outside of school hours. Please notify us of your child’s medical appointment by reporting it on the school app. This allows you to attach proof of the appointment, which may in turn enable us to authorise the absence.
Please notify us of your child’s absence by reporting it on the school app. You could leave a message with Reception on 01827 831300, but due to the busy nature of Reception, we do encourage the use of the school app for this purpose.
Schools are required by law to take an attendance register twice a day. Therefore, your child has missed 2 registrations, otherwise referred to as sessions, for 1 day of absence.
This refers to any pre-planned absence (excluding for medical reasons) of any length of time, whether part of a day, whole day, or multiple days. Headteachers are no longer allowed to authorise a leave of absence during term time, unless the circumstances are exceptional. If you believe this is the case, you must complete a Leave of Absence Request Form, which should be collected from, and returned to Reception. You will receive a formal response once the Headteacher has considered your request. Failure to follow school procedure will result in the absence being unauthorised.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
In August 2024 the government halved the criteria required for schools to refer parents/carers whose children have irregular attendance, to the Local Authority. There only need to have been 10 sessions (5 days) of unauthorised absence in a 10 week period.
Don’t get caught out. Avoid unnecessary unauthorised absences. Did you know your child’s absence could be unauthorised for any of the following avoidable reasons?…
- If your child, rather than speak to member of school staff, has used their mobile phone to contact you to come and pick them up from school. We do not allow students to use mobile phones between 8.30am and 3pm, so this could even come with a sanction for failing to follow school policy.
- If you have taken them out of school for a medical appointment and failed to provide us with evidence.
- If your child has a general medical appt but does not attend school either before it or after it. We do not typically authorise a whole day for an appointment.
- If you have taken your child out of school for a Leave of Absence, whether for part of a day, a full day, or longer, without completing our Leave of Absence Form (available from Reception), and obtaining permission from the Headteacher first.
- If you do not contact us, and do not respond when we contact you regarding your child’s absence.
- If your child has been absent due to illness for 4 days, and you cannot provide us with medical evidence of the illness from day 5.
- If we have written to you asking for medical evidence for absence due to illness, and you fail to provide this.
- If your child has taken part in a school activity/trip and you allow them to have the following day off because they are tired.
- If your child is over 30 minutes late to school without you notifying us with an acceptable/unavoidable reason.
- If you keep your child at home because they are missing a part of their uniform, e.g., lost tie, blazer in wash, shoes have broken. We now have multiple items in school that students can borrow for the day.
- If you allow your child to stay at home to avoid sitting a detention, or being in IE, rather than sending your child to school as normal, and giving us the opportunity to investigate your query.
- If you have assumed that school is closed due to an INSET day, instead of checking with us first.
- If your child’s absence is reported by a person who school do not have as a named contact on our system, and you do not follow this up with us.