Attendance
All children of compulsory school age (between 5 and 16) are legally required to receive an education. Evidence shows that students who attend school regularly make better progress both academically and socially. Attendance is also a safeguarding matter. Children may be at risk of harm if they do not attend school regularly.
Our aim is for every student to have the best possible record of attendance and punctuality in order that they remain safe and gain the maximum benefit from their learning opportunities.
Lady Lumley’s attendance target of 95% is the minimum that we expect for all students. The school will start to show concern for a student if their attendance dips below 96% in a 12 month period.
Every lesson counts and it is this commitment to learning that will have a positive effect on each student’s examination results and their future life-chances.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Parents and carers are responsible for ensuring the children in their care receive an education.
The school has a responsibility to monitor all students’ attendance closely and to keep accurate records of attendance and punctuality. The school will follow up any unexplained absence by contacting parents/carers by telephone and/ or by letter. Where a student’s attendance record reaches a concerning level, we will contact parents to discuss ways in which the school can support parents in order to improve the attendance of the student.
Teachers are responsible for recording attendance at lessons within the first 10 minutes of each lesson and registration period.
The attendance officer is responsible for ensuring all registers are complete and accurate and all absences are explained. The attendance ATS follows up individual students, liaising with parents and sending appropriate letters.
The school will promote the importance of good attendance through assemblies, discussions with individuals and groups and celebrating good attendance through assemblies and other publicity.
The Governing Body will set attendance targets for the school after consultation with senior staff.
What to do if your child is ill:
If your child is too ill to attend the school, parents/carers should contact the school’s attendance office between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Or, you can call into school and report to reception and a member of staff will speak with you.
Calling School
- Telephone 01751 472846
- Explain the call is about a child’s absence
- Please give your child’s name, tutor group, the reason for the absence, and how long you expect the absence to last.
We ask that you contact us each day that your child is absent.
Absences of over three days should be supported by a doctor’s note.
We take our safeguarding responsibility seriously and the attendance officer will contact parents/carers if a student is absent from period 1 and she has received no reason for absence by 9 a.m.
The attendance officer will call each day the child is ill unless contact has been made to the school by 9 a.m.
The attendance officer will also contact the parents/ carers if the student rings to report his or her own absence or if we have reason to doubt the identity of the caller.
