Attendance
The link between attendance and attainment is clear:
- In 2018/19, just 40% of persistently absent (PA) children in KS2 achieved expected KS2 standards, compared with 84% of pupils who regularly attended school.
- 36% of PA children in KS4 got 9 to 4 in their English and maths GCSEs, compared with 84% of regular attenders.[1]
And it’s never too late to benefit from good attendance:
- More than half (54%) of pupils who were PA in Year 10 and then rarely absent in Year 11, passed at least 5 GCSEs, compared to 36% of pupils who were persistently absent in both years.[2]
But attendance is important for more than just attainment:
- Regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing.[3]
Attendance in the first week of school in September sets up attendance throughout the year (and it's time to start preparing for back to school now):
- Evidence from a Children’s Commissioner report showed that children who miss one of the first few days of the new term for unauthorised reasons are much more likely to miss long periods of their schooling than their peers who attended those first few days. These children had a predicted overall absence of almost 45%, or 31 days across the term.[4]
- In the 2022/23 academic year, of those who had at least one day of absence in the first week of term, 55.5% went on to be persistently absent.[5]
[1] The link between absence and attainment at KS2 and KS4, Academic year 2018/19 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)
[2] Missing Children, Missing Grades | Children's Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)
[3] Mental Health and Attendance at School (Chapter 1) - Mental Health and Attendance at School (cambridge.org)
[4] Let’s get ready for September | Children's Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)
[5] Pupil attendance in schools, Week 8 2024 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)
Improving attendance is everyone’s responsibility; teaching and non-teaching staff, the governing body, the local authority and other partners.
We expect students to attend daily and to arrive on time (8.55am). Parents/carers must ensure their child/children attend school daily and on time and notify the school before 9am of any absence by email: [email protected] or voicemail 01775 719714.
Every effort must be made to make medical/dental appointments outside of school time. Parents/carers must notify our Attendance Officer, Mr J Skinner, [email protected] in advance of any appointments, including evidence of the appointment.
Should a leave of absence during term time be requested, this is to be submitted on the relevant form (Appendix 2 of the attached policy) 15 days before the absence. Leave of absence will only be granted by the Headmistress in exceptional circumstances.
Penalty notices will be issued by Lincolnshire County Council at the request of the School if an unauthorised period of absence exceeds 4.5 school days in a ten-week period or if a child is present in a public place during school hours without reasonable justification during the first 5 days of any exclusion.
