Attendance

Good attendance and punctuality are vital for success at school, and to establish positive life habits that are necessary for future success.

Through regular attendance, students can:

• Build friendships and allow young people to feel part of a community

• Develop life skills and self-discipline

• Engage in learning and enjoy academic success

• Minimise the risk of engaging in anti-social behaviour or feeling isolated.

We should not underestimate the importance of excellent attendance and being punctual. Even one day missed can have a negative effect on learning:

Table 1: Attendance over 5 school years for each student

Getting 90% in a test or examination would normally be considered a good result. In attendance terms, however, having around 90% attendance can have devastating consequences for a young person’s future. The government call this group of students persistently absent. At Ridgewood, our goal is for all our students to have good attendance, even when they are experiencing challenging circumstances. Through effective support and working closely with families, we can ensure every child maximises their opportunities. The minimum target for students is 96%. Our experience is that this level of attendance is achievable for the vast majority of students. In fact, many will exceed it, and some will maintain a 100% record over the entire academic year showing tremendous commitment to their studies. Post pandemic, Ridgewood has been above the national average because of the level of expertise available to support students and their families. If Ridgewood staff are unable to help, we have support services to refer or signpost parents to so that they can receive the support they need.

As well have having good attendance, you also have a responsibility to ensure that your child arrives to school on time and stays in school during the day.

All students are expected to be in their form room on time each day. Students should be on site by 8.35am which is when the warning bell will sound. Students will be expected to be in their form room by the second bell at 8.40am. If students are not on time, they receive a late mark and you will be informed of this by text. If students are late regularly, they will be supported in their social time in an attempt to modify this behaviour. If a student arrives to school after 9.10am, without a good reason, the school register will have closed, and this will be marked as an unauthorised absence which can be used as evidence in legal procedures. An unauthorised late will also affect the student’s attendance percentage.

Being on time helps everyone and shows respect. The students will not miss out on any important messages or learning opportunities. Teachers can concentrate on teaching and learning strategies without having to catch up late comers and the flow of lessons remains uninterrupted. When students are late it impacts not just on themselves but on other members of the school community. Teamwork is one of our treasured Ridgewood values and we emphasise a team approach to everything we do. Being on time is a simple way in which students can help to serve their school community. Punctuality may seem like a small thing, for example, ‘she/he was just a few minutes late’, but it actually matters a great deal.

If a student is five minutes late to school each day they have missed three school days each year. Students often miss important messages and have an unsettled start to the day. It can lead to their confidence being undermined and in some circumstances to unacceptable behaviour because the student is struggling with the set work. This should help explain why being on time is so important.

Under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, all children of compulsory school age (between 5-16) must receive a suitable full-time education. As a parent/carer, you are responsible for ensuring that this happens, either by registering your child at a school or by making appropriate alternative arrangements. A parent/carer who fails in this duty is guilty of an offence under Section 444(1) of this act.

Once you have registered your child at a school, you are also legally responsible for ensuring that your child attends school regularly. If you fail to do this – even if your child truants without your knowledge – legal action can be taken against you by the Local Authority.

Legal action can involve a penalty notice (£160 fine per student per parent reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days) or in more serious cases parents being prosecuted with a maximum fine of £2500. Parenting orders may also be issued requiring parents to attend counselling and guidance programmes, usually a parenting class. Where parents fail to pay fines, or the law around regular attendance is repeatedly broken and previous legal interventions have been ineffective, parents can face a period of imprisonment. Ensuring regular attendance at school is important and the consequences of breaking the law are serious.

Penalty Notice Fines for School Attendance are Changing

Although school has a responsibility to liaise closely with the Education Support Service (ESS) and provide information which may be required to support legal action, our aim is to prevent this from being necessary. At Ridgewood we pride ourselves on our ability to support families and help young people thrive. We have the will and expertise to help and even in specialist circumstances where we are unable to help, we can signpost you to the right services and support you in this process. If you are experiencing difficulties with your child, and you haven’t kept school informed, please pick up the phone today and ask to speak with your child’s Head of Year. We are here to help!

When a student is absent from school, this will be classified as either ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’.

The Headteacher will decide which absences are granted as authorised. Authorised absences are only permitted for valid reasons such as:

• Illness which is severe enough to warrant time off school.

• Medical or dental appointments that cannot be made outside of school hours.

• Religious observance.

• Family bereavement for a close relative.

• Self-isolation due to a transmissible disease that poses a risk to others.

If the school agrees to authorise absence this will not lead to legal action.

Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider essential or reasonable.

Unauthorised absences can include:

• Forgetting school term dates.

• Oversleeping.

• Arriving at school after the register has closed (at least half an hour late)

• Leaving without good reason during the school day.

• Truancy during the school day.

• Keeping students off school unnecessarily or without explanation.

• Day trips or family outings.

• Problems with uniform/clothing (school will be able to help)

• Birthdays and holidays.

Many students have time off school for illnesses that are manageable on the school site with the help of over the counter medication e.g. headaches, colds, muscle pain etc. If your child presents as ill at home, you should go to the local pharmacy and ask for the appropriate medication. If you then contact school with the required information, we can monitor your child and issue any medication in line with your instructions. It is rare for students who take the positive decision to try to manage their illness through the school day have to be sent home, but of course if this is necessary school will contact you to make the necessary arrangements. Often school can be a helpful distraction and although students may not always complete work to their usual standard, not missing out on the ideas they are exposed to in lessons is a great help when they are fully fit and well again. Many students feel a huge sense of pride when they get to the end of the school day having successfully managed an illness and at Ridgewood, we would commend them on their resilience.

There will be times when it is not appropriate to send your child into school. Serious illness is managed best at home. We would, however, expect that if your child is too ill to attend school that there would be a parent/carer at home to take care of them. Also, if there is a pattern of previous absence school may well ask for medical evidence. This could be a doctor’s appointment, prescription or medication etc. If it is not possible to supply medical evidence, school may conduct a home visit to verify that the child is ill. We know from experience that some students will feign illness when they have another reason for not wanting to go to school which they are not comfortable talking about. This may be that they have fallen out with a friend or have not completed homework. Always take the time to talk to your son / daughter to try to establish whether the illness is genuine. If there are no obvious signs or symptoms of illness send them in to school and let school know that your child is potentially feeling ill or has been reluctant to attend school so that a member of staff can speak with them and monitor them throughout the day.

The government may advise your child to self-isolate at home because they have a disease that is easily transmissible and is a risk to others like COVID-19 or chicken pox. In this case you should follow government guidance or seek advice from school.

Further advice can be found here NHS-Is my child too ill for school?

• Encourage good attendance by speaking to your child about the importance of school.

• Take an interest in your child’s schoolwork and find opportunities to give praise or reward attendance e.g. link attendance to the student’s pocket money or allowance.

• Make sure your child understands that you do not approve of absence from school.

• Inform us on the first day of your child’s absence before 9.00am and keep us updated on a daily basis throughout the absence period.

• Provide us with more than one emergency contact for your child, to ensure that if we receive no response from one number, we can try the others that you have provided.

• Cooperate with your school to make sure your child overcomes any barriers to attendance and always be honest about reasons for absence. Don’t be tempted to ‘cover up’ for your child.

• Discuss planned absences with the Headteacher and apply for permission well in advance.

• Only take your child out of school during term time where the absence has been authorised.

• Make as many appointments as possible outside of school hours, for example, dental appointments. If an appointment is unavoidable, provide school with evidence and work around the appointment to maximise attendance. For example, if a student arrived at school as normal, left at 10am and returned at 12.30pm then the child would be present for both sessions. Always try to get them to attend before, and after, an appointment if possible.

The school cannot be expected to authorise an absence for a holiday during term time.

Taking holidays during term time means that students miss important learning opportunities and other school activities. It will be difficult for students to catch up on work when they return to school. Only in exceptional circumstances may a leave of absence be authorised during term time – this will be decided by the Headteacher. When requesting leave of absence in term time, this must be done as far in advance as possible. The minimum is 1 months’ notice. Please ask for a ‘Leave of Absence Request Form’ available from the school office or can be downloaded below.

Leave of Absence Request Form.

If you think your child needs to be taken out of school, you should discuss the reasons with the school as soon as possible. If the Headteacher is satisfied with the evidence and the notice period, they will authorise the absence, but it is important that you understand this would only happen in extreme cases. The request should be rare, significant, unavoidable and short. The school must balance the request against the impact on the child and exceptional circumstances do not involve cheaper costs, family holiday patterns, availability of accommodation or weather conditions. You will be fined by the Local Authority if you take your child on holiday during term time, for 5 or more days, without permission from the Headteacher.

We understand how tempting it must be to book a holiday in term time. Cheaper holidays (even taking the penalty notice into consideration), quieter destinations and it being easier to book time off from work are just a few of the considerations. However, you must consider the hidden cost. One or two weeks away from school can be devastating in terms of undermining learning. Learning is like building a house- a firm foundation needs to be laid and then skills and knowledge are layered like bricks. Each layer is critical to understanding what comes next. Miss some layers and learning stops making sense. Effectively there is nothing to hold the ceiling up by the time the student gets to the test or examination. This can result in students lacking confidence, losing the desire to learn, and feeling embarrassed about their test scores or not being able to complete the work. It can be the start of general disengagement and a loss of self-esteem. Over time, the consequences of a holiday in term time could lead to underachievement and lower GCSE grades. Research, and our own experience, shows that missing just 8.5 days a year will usually lead to the student dropping a GCSE grade, on average, in every subject. This in turn could become a barrier to career options and potential future earnings. The holiday might sound like a fantastic idea in the here and now but is it worth jeopardising your child’s future?

Penalty Notice Fines for School Attendance are Changing

If parents feel that their child cannot take part in the school’s activities and would be better remaining at home then they must contact the school (01384 818445) as soon as possible on the first and any subsequent days of absence before 9:00 am. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of the school attendance policy and home school agreement. The person ringing will be asked to identify themselves and clearly give the reason for the absence. This information will be recorded.

Attendance is monitored at a student-by-student level but we will also monitor the attendance of groups including, but not limited to, year groups, pupils receiving free school meals or pupils with special education needs. If there is a history of low attendance for a student, they are a member of one of the groups we are monitoring, or unusual patterns of attendance emerging, we will often contact families to gather further information and offer support.

If a student is absent from school and we have had no contact from parents/carers, we will do a home visit on the third day of absence. If a student has a sustained period of absence, we may also conduct a visit. This is part of the school safeguarding procedures to ensure that all students are safe and offer support to families.

We regularly review attendance and have processes in place to support our students and families. Regular communication is part of that process and is an expectation of schools from the local authority. It is important that students and families are aware of the support available in school. We also like to keep you updated of the number of absences from school, the amount of hours lost and how this compares to school averages.