Attendance is one
of the biggest factors in determining individual students’ achievement, success
and wellbeing at school, and therefore their future life chances.
Absence Reporting
If your child is absent due to illness or a medical
appointment, please report their absence, along with the reason, via the My
Child at School desktop browser. Alternatively, you can complete
the Absence Notification Form using the link below or email
.
If your child is in Year 12 or 13, please report their
absence to .
Absences must be reported daily for the duration of your
child's absence.
If you know in advance that your
child will be away from school, please inform us at your earliest
convenience. Additionally, kindly notify
us of any lateness or scheduled appointments.
The school actively follows up on
unexplained absences. If your child is absent for an unauthorised event, the
details may be referred to the Educational Welfare Service which could result
in a fixed penalty notice. Please be
aware that the College may request supporting documentation for any absence.
Typically, work is not provided
for students during their absence, as our priority is to ensure they recover
fully and return to school as soon as possible.
Medical Appointments
We encourage students to maximise
their attendance, as research highlights a strong correlation between regular
attendance and examination success.
Many medical appointments can
often be scheduled in a way that allows students to attend school both before
and after their appointments. By doing so, they can minimise missed learning
opportunities while maintaining high attendance levels.
We kindly ask parents/carers to
ensure that their child attends morning registration, even if a medical
appointment is scheduled later in the morning. Similarly, where possible,
afternoon appointments should be arranged after Period 4, during
lunchtime. We also encourage students to return to school following lunchtime
appointments, if feasible.
Thank you for your continued
support in helping your child achieve maximum attendance and academic success.
Attendance and Absence
Research strongly indicates that
students with an attendance rate of 96% or higher not only excel academically
and make greater progress, but also tend to be happier and more settled in
school.
However, when attendance falls
below this level, it begins to have a negative impact across all areas of a
student’s school life—a detrimental effect that worsens as attendance rates
continue to decline.
Poor attendance (below 96%) is
one of the most significant barriers to student achievement, as it leads to
students falling behind in their learning.
Attendance
Attendance is formally recorded
twice daily: in the morning at 8:50am and in the afternoon at 2:10pm. It is
essential that students are prepared to begin their tutor period promptly at
8:50am and are punctual for each subsequent lesson.
As required by law, registers
must be taken in a timely manner, and there are consequences for lateness.
Students who arrive after registration closes will be marked as late, and those
arriving after 9:25am will receive an unauthorised mark.
If a student is absent without
prior notification, we will inform parents/carers as soon as possible if your
child has not arrived at school in the morning. To ensure prompt communication,
parents/carers are strongly encouraged to keep their contact details up-to-date
via the Bromcom App.
Attendance is recorded during
every lesson to monitor internal truancy and comply with safeguarding
regulations. Students are required to sign in upon late arrival or sign out if
leaving during school hours. Parents/carers must notify the school and provide
a valid reason for their child's departure.
No student may leave College
without authorisation from staff under any circumstances.
Students feeling unwell must
report to reception and are not permitted to contact parents directly through
phone calls, texts, or messaging apps to request collection.
If my child becomes unwell
during the school day
The College will make every
effort to provide immediate care for students who are injured or begin to feel
unwell during the school day. However, there are limitations to the support the
College can offer for students who are unwell.
If your child becomes unwell
during the day and is unable to attend lessons, they should report to reception
to be assessed. Where appropriate, their parent/carer will be contacted and
asked to collect them.
To assist us in managing this
efficiently, please ensure that your contact information is always kept
up-to-date.
Absence Requests (inc holiday
requests)
Under the Education (Pupil Registrations) Regulations 2006: ”Headteachers
may not authorise leave during term time except where the circumstances are exceptional.”
For circumstances to be deemed
exceptional they must be: ‘rare, significant, unavoidable and of short
duration'.
To request an absence from school, please complete the School
Absence Request (Devon School) which can be downloaded from the
following link:
(IMPORTANT - Holidays during term
time will not usually be considered as exceptional circumstances.)