Attendance
Why Good Attendance & Punctuality Are Important
Good attendance at school is the single most important factor in ensuring that children and young people have the maximum life chances-attendance is strongly linked to educational achievement. When a child does not attend school regularly and on time they will have difficulty keeping up with their work and will therefore underachieve.
Highbury Quadrant aims to ensure that all our pupils have an equal chance to make good use of the education school offers by providing a supportive and positive atmosphere. We recognise that parents and carers have a vital role to play in supporting and encouraging good attendance and punctuality. We aim to work closely with parents and carers to safeguard a child’s right to their education and enable parents and carers to fulfil their legal responsibilities. We are committed to monitoring pupil attendance and punctuality on a regular basis, we identify pupils whose attendance and punctuality cause concern and we take appropriate action.
Illness is usually the only acceptable reason for a pupil to miss a school day, if they are too unwell to attend. If this is the case, you should call the school office by 9.15am. You may be unsure in the morning if your child is well enough for school. We suggest you send them in for we can always call you if they become too ill to get through the day.
Medical appointments should be made out of school hours where possible. If your child has to see a doctor or dentist in school time they should attend school for as much of the day as possible. It is not permitted to take a whole day off school for a medical appointment unless the appointment lasts all day.
Family holidays should be taken during the school holidays and not during term time. In very exceptional circumstances permission may be sought from the headteacher for term time leave, however, every case will be treated individually, and authorisation is at the headteacher’s discretion.
Authorisation for absence will not be given for outings, shopping trips or family visits.
The information below shows how attendance can affect your child’s future progress.
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Above 97%: Less than 6 days’ absence a year Excellent attendance! These pupils will almost certainly get the best grades they can, leading to better prospects for the future. |
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95%: 10 days’ absence a year These pupils are likely to achieve good grades and form a habit of attending school regularly. However, pupils who take a 2 week holiday every year during school time can only ever achieve 95% attendance. What if they also experience illness? |
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90%: 19 days’ absence a year The government considers pupils in this group as “Persistent Absentees” (PA) and these pupils find it almost impossible to keep up with the work. Failure to ensure a child’s regular attendance at school is a criminal offence and if, with support from the school and or Local Authority, the child’s attendance fails to improve, persistent absence may result in a Penalty Notice or court action. |
As a school we are happy to provide support and information. If you have any concerns around your child’s attendance, or about ill health or a medical condition which can affect their attendance and punctuality, please don’t hesitate to contact the school to discuss this further. The Inclusion Lead is Dina Dinshaw, available on tel: 0207 2266531 and on email ddinshaw@highburyquadrant.islington.sch.uk
We look forward to working with you to achieve the best possible outcome for your child’s education.
Top Tips for Achieving Good Attendance & Punctuality
- Children should go to bed early enough:
Tired children are hard to wake up and find it difficult to learn. Going to bed at a reasonable time makes things easier for them and you.
- Be in school regularly and on time:
It is settling for children and helps them get into a routine. The more regularly they are in school and on time the more they get used to it. Aim to be in school by 8.45 am.
- Get up early enough:
Avoid rushing and feeling stressed. Get up early enough and give yourself enough time to get ready.
- Limit TV or game time in the morning:
Avoid arguments and lateness by limiting how long they are allowed to watch TV or play games in the morning. If it regularly causes problems think about banning it completely in the mornings.
- Get things ready the night before:
If uniforms, packed lunches, etc. are ready the night before it saves a lot of time in the mornings.
- Make time for breakfast – or consider Breakfast Club at school:
Making time for breakfast can help to keep things calm in the morning and saves time rather than having to stop at the shops on the way to school. Or come to our school Breakfast Club where children have time to eat, play and get ready for the school day.