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, pupils 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 pupil

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 pupils persistently absent. At IGHS, our goal is for all our pupils 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 pupils is 97%. Our experience is that this level of attendance is achievable for the vast majority of pupils. In fact, many will exceed it, and some will maintain a 100% record over the entire academic year showing tremendous commitment to their studies. Over the last few years, IGHS have consistently achieved some of the best rates of attendance in the country because of the level of expertise available to support pupils and their families. If IGHS staff are unable to  help, we have a vast network of 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 pupils are expected to be in their form room on time each day. Details of the start of the school day can be found in the Attendance and Punctuality Policy on the school’s website.  If pupils are not on time, they receive a late mark and you will be informed of this by text.  If pupils are late regularly, they may be sanctioned in an attempt to modify this behaviour. If a pupil arrives to school more than 30 minutes late, 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 pupil’s percentage attendance and access to rewards and privileges.

Being on time helps everyone and shows respect. The pupils 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 pupils are late it impacts not just on themselves but on other members of the school community. Teamwork is one of our treasured IGHS values and we emphasise a team approach to everything we do. Being on time is a simple way in which pupils 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 pupil is five minutes late to school each day they have missed three school days each year. Pupils 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 pupil 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, you are responsible for ensuring that this happens, either by registering your child at a school or by making appropriate alternative arrangements. A parent who fails in this duty is guilty of an offence under Section 444(1) of this act.

Schools have a duty of care, shared with the Local Authority, to challenge poor attendance. Where attendance levels are low and where there are invalid reasons (as judged by the school and the Education Welfare Service, not the parent) for a pupil’s frequent absence or where parents condone absence (e.g. by taking children out of school on unauthorised holidays) then parents render themselves liable to a fine; the first penalty notice issued to a parent in respect of a particular pupil will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.

If further unauthorised absence is observed, a second penalty notice will be issued to the same parent in respect of the same pupil is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days. A third penalty notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of issue of the first. In a case where the national threshold is met for a third time (or subsequent times) within those 3 years, alternative action will be taken instead, this will often include considering prosecution, but may include other tools such as one of the other attendance legal interventions like an education supervision order overseen by a magistrate’s court or a parenting order requiring parents to attend counselling and guidance programmes, usually a parenting class. If parents are prosecuted there is a maximum fine of £2500. 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.

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

The Principal 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 30 minutes late).
• Leaving without good reason during the school day.
• Truancy during the school day.
• Keeping pupils 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 pupils 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 pupils 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 pupils 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 pupils feel a huge sense of pride when they get to the end of the school day having successfully managed an illness and at IGHS, 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 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 send a member of staff around to your home to verify that the child is ill. We know from experience that some pupils 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.

• Encourage good attendance by speaking to your child about the importance school.
• Take an interest in your child’s schoolwork and find opportunities to give praise or reward attendance e.g. link attendance to the pupil’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 Principal 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 pupil 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 pupils miss important learning opportunities and other school activities. It will be difficult for pupils 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 Principal. 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.  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 Principal 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 without permission from the Principal.

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 pupil gets to the test or examination. This can result in pupils 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 pupil 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?