Attendance
Attendance at a glance:
Every child at Our Lady’s RC High School matters. There are clear links between regular attendance and educational outcomes for students. The most important factor in helping your child achieve their best is 100% attendance. Students who attend school more achieve better qualifications. Research has shown that students who are not in school are most vulnerable. Research also shows that less than 40% of students in secondary school with an average of 17 days or more absence get 5 good GCSE’s (grades 9-4) compared to more than 90% in schools with an average of less than 8 days absence. Many parents are surprised how quickly their children accumulate 15 days of absence. Every lesson in school matters and children who have time off find it difficult to catch up.
Did you know?
For every day of school missed by a student their attendance drops by 0.5%.
95% attendance may sound good however:
95% = Ten whole days of school have been missed.
90% = Twenty whole days of school have been missed. Your child is now a Persistent Absentee (PA)
85% = Thirty whole days of school have been missed.
What the law says:
By law all children of compulsory school age must get a suitable full time education. Parents are responsible for ensuring this happens by registering your child at a school. Once your child is registered at a school you are then responsible for making sure your child attends regularly. If your child fails to attend regularly the Local Authority (LA) may take legal action against you.
All schools have to follow very strict regulations about attendance. Every absence has to be recorded and reported to the LA. Therefore, it is imperative that parents and school work together to support your child. Please notify us soon as possible if you know your child will be absent from school.
Illness:
This can be understandable, however please remember that we may need to challenge parents regarding absences. It is at school’s discretion whether an absence will be authorised. If your child has three or more days of consecutive absence or if we are concerned about your child’s attendance we will require medical evidence to authorise absences, it is also likely that you will receive a welfare visit at home by the attendance team. Medical evidence can be in the form of a medical appointment card, a medical letter, a copy of your child’s prescription, medication with a chemist’s label showing the name and the date or an “unfit for school” declaration or letter from your GP in the case of acute or prolonged illness. Phone calls are made to every student who has an ‘unexplained absence’ each morning.
Medical appointments:
Every effort must be made to arrange medical appointments outside of the school day if possible. If you need your child to attend a medical appointment within the school day, he/she must bring the appointment card to student services or the attendance office in advance of the appointment. Medical appointments will only be authorised if we receive a copy of the appointment letter/card. Students are expected to attend school before or after the appointment, depending on the time of the appointment. Missing lessons will directly impact the progress your child will make and could hinder them in achieving their full potential. Taking a full day of absence for an appointment is unacceptable.
Leave of absence in term time:
From 1st September 2013, the law gives no entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time and we strongly advise parents against this. Any activity, holiday or event should be arranged during the 13 weeks of school closure. Leave of absence will have a detrimental impact on your child’s educational achievement and may result in a Penalty Notice being issued.