It is the responsibility of parents and carers to ensure that their child attends school regularly.
At Chetwynde School, we will work with parents/carers and pupils to ensure that all pupils attend regularly and, therefore, fulfil their potential.
Every child of compulsory school age has a right to full-time education.
- Any pupil whose attendance is lower than 90% is classified as “persistently absent”
- Any pupil whose attendance is lower than 50% is classified as “severely absent”
Pupils are notified weekly of their attendance level, through conversations with their Form Teacher.
100% – attendance is considered Excellent
99%-96% – attendance is considered Good
95%-90% – attendance is considered Of Concern
Below 90% – attendance is considered Of Serious Concern
Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling, and consistent absence will seriously affect their learning.
Ensuring your child’s regular attendance at school is your legal responsibility, and permitting absence from school without a good reason creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution.
Children who attend school regularly do better, and there is a clear link between high attendance levels and better achievement – DfE research suggests that falling to 92% attendance in any one year (16 days of absence) is equal to a full grade drop in GCSE attainment.
We are passionate about working closely with parents and carers.
Please take the time to read the whole school attendance policy for more information. Alternatively, contact a member of the school attendance team via the school office.
You will be notified if your child’s attendance falls below the following expectations, and intervention processes will begin.:
- Attendance lower than 95% in the first half-term of the academic year
- Attendance lower than 90%
You may be invited into school as part of this intervention process, and a plan will be devised to ensure that regular school attendance is secured.
If attendance drops lower than 80% after the first term of the academic year, the school will contact the Westmorland and Furness Inclusion team for further assistance in improving your child’s attendance.
If you have any question about your child’s attendance, please contact Dr. H. Polley by email or through the School Office.
We are passionate about working closely with parents/carers. Parents/carers will be notified if their son/daughter’s attendance falls below the expected level, and intervention processes will begin. Parents/carers may be invited into school as part of this intervention process, and a plan will be devised to ensure that regular school attendance is secured.
Please take the time to read the whole School Attendance Policy for more information; alternatively, please contact a member of the school attendance team via the school office.
The start of the school day is a vital part of a child’s routine which impacts on the organisation and other important matters.
Pupils are expected to be in their classroom or form room by 8.30am; any pupil who misses this registration point will be marked as late.
Senior pupils without a valid reason for their late arrival will need to serve a morning break detention that day.
The school gates from Abbey Road will be locked by a member of school staff at 8.30am – pupils arriving after this point must report to the school office via the Rating Lane entrance.
If your child is going to be absent from school for any reason, you must inform the school by
- calling 01229 824210 before 8:30 am, leaving a message on the answerphone, or
- using the reporting feature on the EduLink app.
You must do this for each day of absence.
Failure to report the reason for absence may result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised, and a home visit being made.
Please note that I cannot authorise any holidays due to government changes to regulations.
I can only authorise a leave of absence under exceptional circumstances.
Please note that unauthorised leave could result in your child being excluded from school rewards.” – Mr. Jefferson
Under Government Regulations, parents must apply to the Headteacher of their son/daughter’s school for permission to take children out of school during term time.
The Headteacher may grant the request, in which case the absence would be authorised.
If you still wish to take your child out of school, please complete this Leave of Absence Request Form, setting out proposed leave of absence dates and the reasons why leave is being proposed during term time.
The Headteacher will contact you if there is a problem allowing your child this leave of absence.
If this procedure is not followed, the absence will be unauthorised.