ATTENDANCE

Attendance Officer Telephone Extension: 0118 930 2741 or 01189308555

Absence email address: absence@thealegreen.w-berks.sch.uk

Attendance

At Theale Green School we believe that attendance and attainment are strongly linked. We want all our students to attend school regularly and on time so they can become resilient and confident learners who are able to achieve their potential and make a positive contribution to society.

Did you know? 6 out of 10 students with an attendance rate of 95% or more gain at least 5 GCSEs at grades 5-9. An attendance rate of 90% is equivalent to missing half a day of school per week!

On a school day, the only place students should be is in school. Students are legally required to attend school every day and should only be absent in real emergencies.

Section 444 of the Education Action 1996 states “if a child of compulsory school age, who is a registered pupil at school, fails to attend regularly at the school, the parents are guilty of an offence”. This is applicable to all students of compulsory school age up to 16.

We expect all our students to attend school regularly and on time. At Theale Green School we will do our utmost to encourage good attendance from our students and want all students to achieve at least 96% attendance. If a student’s attendance falls below 96%, we will contact you to consider how we can work together to support your child attending school regularly moving forward. If attendance continues to fall, we will use other strategies including phone calls from tutors, letters home from key staff, Attendance Action Plan meetings in school or referrals to the Education Welfare Officer. We aim to avoid the latter wherever possible, as prefer to work directly with families to consider what measures can be put into place to support the student improving their attendance. Students who have exceptionally high attendance will be rewarded for their efforts 

Reporting Your Child’s Absence

If your child Is not in school, they must have a justified reason. Please contact the Attendance Office by telephone or email on the first day of absence. We may contact you to discuss your child’s absence further and ways we can support their return to school.

If you are unsure whether your child should be off school or not, please do not hesitate to contact the Attendance Officer who will be able to advise accordingly. Alternatively, please consult the NHS guidance https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/ .

Appointments

Parents/carers are reminded that dental and medical appointments should, wherever possible, be made out of school hours. If your child has an unavoidable appointment, we request they bring the medical appointment card or letter to the Attendance Office to authorise as a medical appointment. Please be aware, that although these are authorised medical appointment, they do still affect a student’s overall attendance percentage for the academic year.

When the time arrives for the student to leave school, students should report to Main Reception to sign out and on your return to school you must sign back in at Main Reception.

Punctuality

Punctuality is a very important part of self-discipline and is essential to good time management. Students should make sure they are in the appropriate classroom at the right time.

In addition to the close monitoring of attendance, we closely monitor student’s punctuality to school and lessons. The school day begins at 8.30am and students should be sat in their tutor room ready for a prompt registration at 8.35am. The vast majority of our students arrive promptly to school and move between lessons with a sense of pace and purpose.

Students who arrive late, before the registers close are marked on the register with an ‘L’. This means that they have missed tutor time and anywhere between 5 to 25 minutes of their lesson. Students who arrive after registers closed

are marked on the register with a ‘U’ and this will impact greatly on their overall percentage attendance for the academic year, not to mention their studies. Any student who arrives late, will be require to attend a short meeting, afterschool with the Attendance Officer to discuss the reason for lateness and ways to improve their punctuality. Persistent late comers may even receive a phone call home before 8 o’clock to help them get into school each morning.

Please support your child and the school in making every effort to improve attendance and punctuality.

Holidays

We request parents do not book holidays during school term time. Holidays requests must be made directly to the Headteacher in writing on the Holiday Request Form. Please note, the Headteacher will only authorise in exceptional circumstances.

Exceptional circumstances could include:

1. Service personnel returning from a tour of duty abroad where it is evidenced the individual will not be in receipt of any leave in the near future that coincides with school holidays.

2. Where an absence from school is recommended by a health professional as part of a parent or child’s rehabilitation from a medical or emotional issue.

3. The death or terminal illness of a person close to the family.

4. To attend a wedding or funeral of a person close to the family.

5. Where there are exceptional and unforeseen circumstances that fall outside of 1 to 4 above, the Headteacher agrees to consult with the principal education welfare officer prior to any authorisation being given to the parent. The principal education welfare officer will discuss each case with an independent Headteacher and will make a recommendation to the referring school.

We advise that you do not plan for your child to be absent from school without gaining prior agreement from the school first. If your request is authorised, you are required to ensure your child catches up on any missed schoolwork. This is your responsibility and the school are not obliged to provide work for your child to complete.

Illness and Accidents

If you feel unwell or have an accident you must tell a teacher straight away. Normally you will be sent to a First Aider who will take care of you. If you are too ill to remain at school or if hospital treatment is necessary, then your parents/carers will be contacted to make suitable arrangements. Under no circumstance should you leave the school premises without permission.