Attendance
Not only is there a legal responsibility for parents to ensure their children attend school regularly but there is also a direct link between higher attendance and higher attainment and achievement of grades, which give students greater opportunities for college, university and jobs in the future.
All Students should be on the school premises by 8:50am ready to enter school at the 8:55am bell.
We do ask parents to ensure regular attendance at school but when absence does occur, a note from parents stating the reason needs to be given to form tutors. Co-operation in this matter is requested to avoid unnecessary visits by the Education Welfare Officer (EWO). It is also helpful if we are informed at an early stage when an absence is likely to be prolonged.
The standard of attendance is a very important performance-indicator for any school, and at Lakelands we have adopted a computerised system of recording absences. Apart from being extremely accurate, it can very quickly analyse patterns of absences and it enables us to advise parents very promptly of potential problems. A record of your child's attendance is also noted on their report.
What does Good Attendance mean?
Raise your chances! Get your attendance right!
- Do you know what your % attendance is?
- You may have heard about it when you get our report or from your form tutor, achievement leader or EWO.
- Do you know exactly what your figure means?
Sally is in Year 7 and she has 90% attendance.
- Is this good?
- What does this mean?
- Sally and her parents think this is good. Are they right?
90% attendance = ½ day missed every week!!
Lets Look a little Closer
1 school year at 90% attendance = 4 whole weeks of lessons MISSED!!!
90% attendance over 5 years of secondary school = 1/2 a school year MISSED!!!
The greater the attendance the greater the attainment.
What could your potential average earnings look like?
So 90% is not as good as it first seemed. What can you do to increase your attendance?
1. Check back over your attendance record. What are the patterns? Do you always feel ill on days when you have a certain subject ..PE for instance?
2. Does something worry you about school? Find someone to talk to about it.
3. If you really are ill get someone at home to phone school on the first day of absence. Stay in touch with school and get back to it as soon as you are able to be here.
4. Only take days off for genuine illness. (you will know!!)
5. Avoid taking holidays in school time.
6. If your attendance level is 95% or above you are doing well. Make sure that your form tutor reflects that in your reference.
7. You deserve praise and reward for good attendance : don’t mock when other people are congratulated and rewarded : they earned it.
What else could help?
Sometimes you may feel that you need to talk to someone about reasons for your absence. There are plenty of good listeners at Lakelands. Make your first approach either through your Form Tutor or through the Achievement Team.
You are not alone!
Be aware that....
- Lots of students feel inclined to take time off in the run up to tests and homework deadlines. Don’t! The problem just grows.
- Being well organised can help relieve stress. Keep a planner and always look ahead.
- Catching up with missed work is important. A missed day shouldn’t mean missed work.
- But don’t be too hard on yourselves. Do take the chance to celebrate a piece of coursework handed in, revision completed, a topic learned.
Attend and Achieve
If you can improve your attendance by 1%, you will see a 5-6% improvement in attainment. (Department for Education and Skills)
Get your attendance above 95%, and achieve your potential.
What's in it for me?
Good attendance helps you to achieve your goals and aims for the future- sixth form, college, university, job.
So Remember
- Good attendance = Great qualifications
- Lots of opportunities
- Something positive to write in your references
- Better social skills
It’s not too late to make a difference!
Holidays in Term Time
Guidance from the Educational Welfare Service
Until now, the ‘Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006’ have allowed Head Teachers to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday during term time in “special circumstances” of up to ten school days leave per year. Head Teachers have also been able to grant extended leave for more than ten school days in exceptional circumstances.
New amendments to the 2006 regulations remove references to family holiday and extended leave. The amendments make clear that Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Head Teachers should determine the number of school days a child can be away from school should leave be granted.
Head Teachers are now only allowed to authorise any leave of absence when an application has been made in advance and it is felt to be for an exceptional circumstance; the annual family holiday would not be deemed an exceptional circumstance”.
There may still be particular occasions when a student may significantly benefit from being granted leave of absence during the term but the statement above makes it very clear what Lakelands Academy is allowed to do in relation to annual family holidays.
Any decision regarding a ‘leave of absence’ rests with the Headteacher. If you do think there are compelling reasons for a request, please collect a ‘leave of absence request form’ from reception and return it for consideration as early as possible; without the form being completed and returned to the school in advance, we will not be able to consider the request.
As only exceptional circumstances will be considered, exactly how far in advance will vary but no firm commitment should be made (eg financial) by parents prior to a decision being made.
Once a decision regarding a ‘leave of absence’ is made, we are also, now obliged to inform the Educational Welfare Officer attached to the school.
If you require any further information regarding holidays in term time, please click here to contact Mr Parkhurst.