Today Year 7 and Year 12 pupils arrived for the first day of the school year and we are looking forward to welcoming pupils in all other year groups back to school tomorrow.
It is incredibly important that every pupil attends school every day.
This the year the government has published new guidance around Working Together to Improve School Attendance. It raises the expectations for pupils, parents and schools and instructs everyone, including the city council, to work together in making sure pupils attend school every day.
We know that excellent attendance is possible. Last year, 196 pupils had 100% attendance – they didn’t miss a single school day. 551 pupils hit our school target of 96% attendance (less than two days of school absent.
Our school is determined to work with families to improve school attendance and our attendance policy sets out our ways of working:
- If a parent or child has worries or concerns that lead to a reluctance to attend, please contact us and share your concerns with us
- Whenever a pupil is absent, families must contact the school before 8.00am and provide a reason
- If a pupil is absent and families do not communicate with the school, staff will attempt to make contact through calls, emails and home visits
- Whenever a concern around absence emerges, families will be asked to attend an Early Help Meeting to consider the reasons for absence to agree actions for improvement
- Continued concerns around absence will lead to referrals to external agencies, including social work or the city council for the issuing of penalty notices (fines)
This summer the city council published the letter below detailing the approach to penalty notices (fines) and the increase in the amounts families could be asked to pay.
Our goal is for every pupil to enjoy coming to school each day, to experience success and to attend every day. We know that some pupils and families will experience barriers to regular attendance and we are determined to work with those families to address the matter.
If you have any questions or need support around school attendance, please get in touch.