Attendance

Why Attendance Matters

Missing school can have a significant impact on progress.

• 90% attendance = 1 day missed every 2 weeks
• 85% attendance = nearly 1 day missed every week

Students with lower attendance are more likely to:

• fall behind in learning
• feel less confident
• struggle with friendships
• suffer with poor mental health

Good attendance supports both academic success and wellbeing.

Reporting an Absence

If your child is absent, you must:

• Notify the school before 8:30am on the first day of absence
• Provide a reason for the absence
• Update the school on each day of absence

You can report absence via:

• StudyBugs app ADD LINK TO DOWNLOAD
• School office 01749 435555

Types of Absence

Authorised Absence

This includes:

• Illness (physical or mental health)
• Medical or dental appointments
• Religious observance
• Exceptional circumstances (agreed by the Headteacher)

Unauthorised Absence

This includes:

• Holidays during term time (in most cases)
• Absence without explanation
• Absence where the reason is not accepted

Term-Time Leave

The Department for Education states that leave during term time should only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

At Whitstone School:

• Requests must be made in advance
• Each request is considered individually
• Holidays are unlikely to be authorised

Request forms are available from reception.

Punctuality

Being on time is an important part of school life and shows respect for learning, staff and other students.

At Whitstone School, punctuality is expected not only at the start of the day, but for every lesson and tutor time. Arriving on time ensures that you are ready to learn from the very beginning and do not miss important instructions or key learning opportunities.

Why Punctuality Matters

Being late can:

• Disrupt your own learning and make it harder to catch up
• Interrupt the learning of others
• Impact your progress over time
• Make it more difficult to build positive routines and habits

Even missing a few minutes each lesson can quickly add up to a significant loss of learning over time.

Developing good punctuality now is also an important life skill. It prepares students for future education, training and employment, where being on time is expected and valued

Our Expectations

Students are expected to:

• Arrive on time to school each day
• Be punctual to every lesson
• Move promptly between lessons

If a student arrives more than 5 minutes late to any lesson or tutor time, they will receive a 20-minute after-school punctuality detention.

Working Together

We want all students to succeed, and developing strong routines around punctuality is a key part of this. If a student is finding it difficult to arrive on time, we will work with them and their family to provide support and help improve punctuality.

How We Support Good Attendance

We take a supportive and proactive approach.

We:

• Promote attendance through assemblies and tutor time
• Incentivise good attendance
• Celebrate good and improved attendance
• Monitor attendance regularly
• Work closely with families
• Provide targeted support where needed
• Work closely with the Local Authority and other external agencies when greater support is required

We aim to build strong relationships with families to support attendance.Supporting Students with Attendance Needs

We understand that some students face challenges with attendance.

We provide:

• Attendance support plans
• Pastoral support and mentoring
• Adjustments where needed (e.g. SEND support, wellbeing support)
• Support for mental and physical health needs
• Reintegration support after absence
• Adapted and part time timetables
• Alternative curriculum

We work with families and external agencies to remove barriers to attendance.

Monitoring Attendance

We carefully track attendance to ensure every student is supported.

We:

• Monitor attendance regularly
• Identify patterns early
• Contact families where concerns arise
• Provide reports to parents

Persistent absence is defined as:

• Missing 10% or more of school

Severe absence is:

• Missing 50% or more of school

Reducing absence is a key priority for the school.

What Happens if Attendance is a Concern?

We follow a graduated approach:

1. Early contact with parents
2. Attendance monitoring
3. Meetings with families
4. Support plans put in place
5. Involvement of external agencies (if needed) 

If attendance does not improve, legal measures may be considered.

Penalty Notices and Legal Action

Under government guidance, parents can be issued with a penalty notice (fine) for unauthorised absence.

• £80 if paid within 21 days
• £160 if paid within 28 days

Penalty notices may be issued when:

• A student has 10 or more unauthorised sessions in 10 weeks
• Term-time leave is taken without permission

The school will always aim to support families before taking legal action.

Contact us—we will support you.

Only if attendance does not improve after support.