As a school, we place a high priority on achieving excellent attendance, as this enables students to take full advantage of their education and gain habits and skills appropriate for their later working life.

The latest version of the school attendance policy is available here.

Summarised below are the actions that should be taken to notify the school of any absence, whether planned or unplanned:

Notification of unplanned absences on the day should be made to the School by 9.00am on the first day when your child is not well enough to attend school and each subsequent day that your child will not be in attendance via:

• this absence form
• by telephone (01202 692132 and selecting the attendance line)

You should give details of symptoms of illness in the initial contact with the school. We will mark absence due to physical or mental illness as authorised, unless the school has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness.

Planned absences such as medical or dental appointments will be counted as authorised as long as the students parent notifies the school in advance of the appointment. This can be done by completing the online form available here. The school should be notified of other types of term-time absence as far in advance as possible of the requested absence as follows:

• For main school students, please complete the leave of absence request form. Printed copies are available from the school office).
• Sixth form students must use the Sixth Form leave of absence request form; this can be completed by the student and is available from the Sixth Form office or electronically via SharePoint for the following types of absence:
  o medical appointments
  o driving tests (but not lessons)
  o family events (e.g. weddings, funerals of close friends/relatives)
  o university or college open days
  o job or apprenticeship interviews

For all other types of absence, the parents of sixth form students must complete the main school absence request form as detailed above.

Please be aware that the decision as to whether an absence is classed as an authorised or unauthorised absence is for the school to make and we will do this in line with our legal and statutory obligations, and due regard to the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance and the related legislation The School Attendance Regulations 2024.

Where an absence is classified as unauthorised, no work will be provided by teaching staff and we ask that you do not contact your child’s teachers for work. Where a student is absent because they are unwell, no work will be provided by teaching staff and we ask that teachers are not contacted for work. Where an absence is authorised, there should be no expectation placed upon teaching staff to provide work for a student who will be away from school.Where a student is:

• absent due to mobility issues but they are otherwise well or
• unwell but the absence is likely to be prolonged,

parents/carers should liaise with heads of year regarding the arrangements for work that can be put in place for their child.

Useful guidance regarding absence due to illness can be found here.

Should you have any questions regarding the school’s attendance policy, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Where attendance means that a students education is at risk, the school may use a range of strategies to promote attendance. These may include:

• Discussion with parents and students
• Attendance report cards
• Referral to support agencies
• Time limited part time timetable
• Subject support
• Additional learning support
• Additional pastoral support
• ELSA support
• Behaviour support

Where there are concerns regarding attendance, attendance contracts may be used. An attendance contract is a voluntary, written agreement between parents and either the school or the local authority. It can also be extended to include the child and any other agencies offering support to resolve any difficulties leading to improved attendance. The contract will outline attendance targets and will detail agreed actions that will help to achieve the target which might include methods of support to be provided by the school. The contract will be reviewed regularly. The BCP Fast Track to Attendance process will be followed where an attendance contract is to be used. Attendance contracts may be used prior to or instead of a notice to improve (see section 5.2).

Where deemed appropriate/necessary, our school will make use of the full range of potential sanctions to tackle poor attendance. Decisions will be made on an individual, case-by-case basis and in line with the BCP code of conduct as the local authority area in which the student attends school.