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The Warriner School

Attendance

 

 

 

Click here to report your child as absent.

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s attendance, please contact Rebecca Lowe, Attendance Officer for support, R.lowe@warriner.oxon.sch.uk or Hazel Timms, Attendance Support Worker, h.timms@warriner.oxon.sch.uk.

Good attendance matters

Attendance is high priority here at The Warriner School. We monitor individual students attendance to ensure they are accessing all available aspects of their education.

Please click here for information regarding supporting your child to attend school

Please click here for information on The Link, our new provision for students

As a parent or carer, you always want the absolute best for your children growing up. Having a good education is a great head start in life and crucial in creating more opportunities in adult life.

Did you know that:

  • a child who is absent a day of school per week misses an equivalent of two years of their school life.
  • 90% of young people with attendance rates below 85% fail to achieve five or more good grades of GCSE and around one third achieve no GCSEs at all!
  • poor examination results limit young people’s options.
  • poor attendance suggests to colleges and employers that these students are unreliable.
  • poor school attendance can lead to potential involvement in crime - a quarter of school age offenders have truanted repeatedly.
  • In the UK 7.5 million school days are missed each year through unauthorised absence

GCSEs may seem a long way off for your child, but all absences at any stage of your child’s education leads to gaps in your child’s learning. This in turn can:

  • mean that they fall behind in work
  • they lose motivation
  • impact on their enjoyment of learning
  • lead to poor behaviour
  • affect their desire to attend school regularly
  • affect their confidence in school
  • mean they miss out on the social life of school and extra-curricular opportunities and experiences
  • affect their ability to have or keep friendships.

Supporting your child's school attendance

Good school attendance habits are best started early. Children learn from those around them and you as parents/carers set the standards and expectations for them. Showing your child the importance of attending school every day not only helps your child to settle quickly when starting school but helps them to keep and maintain friendships and enjoy the school environment.

Be organised, have a plan, be consistent and involve your child.

You should:

  • Create good routines for mornings at home so that your child can arrive punctually and they are properly equipped
  • Talk to them about the things they have been learning. A short chat may produce a better result than a long list of questions.
  • Read all school communications.
  • Attend school parents’ consultation evenings.
  • Check your child understands the homework and that it has been completed. Support them in completing homework by creating a calm space for them to work in.
  • Avoid absence from school wherever possible. Avoid GP and dental appointments during school hours. Absence means your child will miss out on academic studies and begin to feel that education is not a priority. This can have a negative lifelong effect.

There tends to be good reasons why children become reluctant to attend school. Take the time to listen to your child, share any concerns you or your child may have with the child’s tutor or our Attendance Liaison Team and seek support at the very earliest opportunity.

When can I keep my child away from school?

The school can authorise an absence in the following circumstances:

  • Genuine illness
  • A family crisis
  • Religious observance

Medical appointments should be made outside of school hours. Where this is not possible, students should attend at least one session (morning or afternoon) dependent on the appointment time. Please ensure you keep the school up to date regarding any appointments.

These reasons are NOT ACCEPTABLE

  • Shopping                            
  • Oversleeping                     
  • Having a birthday             
  • Looking after younger siblings
  • Staying at home for deliveries/workmen
  • School refusing

Special leave

From 1st September 2013, the law gives NO entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time. Any application for leave must only be made in exceptional circumstances and the Headteacher must be satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional and warrant the granting of leave. The request for school leave form is available from the general office, or can be downloaded here.

Please see the letter dated October 23 - click here

If a student arrives late to school

It is important students are on time for school as lateness causes disruption to lessons and missed learning time, it can also make students feel unnecessarily anxious.

If a student arrives after attending an appointment, they should sign in at the Attendance Office or the General Office if after 10am. Prior notification of the appointment needs to be sent.

Students arriving late with no reason must sign in at the Attendance Office or the General Office, if after 10am, and will be given a late mark.  Punctuality will be monitored by the Attendance Officer and Heads of Year. Continued lateness will result in the Attendance Officer contacting home.

If a pupil arrives after registration has closed the absence will be recorded as unauthorised for that session. If this persists legal action, in the form of a penalty notice or prosecution under Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 may follow.

What does good attendance mean?

97% to 100% attendance – when a student arrives on time and attends every lesson every day.

Students whose attendance is good: (97% and above)

  • Make progress and have a better understanding of lessons
  • Achieve their best results
  • Are more settled
  • Sustain friendships

What does unsatisfactory attendance mean?

  • Attending 95% of the time or less. This will have a serious impact on learning
  • One day's absence every two weeks will give 90% attendance
  • Continual lateness to registration and lessons
  • Students need to be in school for the first bell at 8.25am.

Students whose attendance is unsatisfactory: (under 95%)

  • Get behind with their work
  • Do not understand lessons so well
  • Achieve lower grades than their potential indicates
  • Find it more difficult to maintain friendship groups

Parents whose children’s attendance continues to be unsatisfactory:

  • Need to support their child to feel positive about school and value their education
  • There is a legal requirement for you to ensure your child attends regularly
  • Need to contact school to discuss any difficulties so an action plan can be put into place
  • Can be fined
  • May be asked to provide medical evidence for each period of absence''

What should parents do if their child is absent?

Call the Absence Reporting line on 01295 720777 or email attendance.4007@warriner.oxon.sch.uk

The telephone line has an answer phone and is available twenty-four hours a day. Please state clearly your child’s name, tutor group and reason for absence and please note that we require a call each morning of a student’s absence.

Please note that we do not have a 48-hour sickness rule. We leave it to parental discretion as to whether a student is well enough for school.

The school sends an automated text to parents where a call has not been received regarding absence. If your child is absent and we have not had any communication from you we may notify them to the police as missing.

If your child has a medical condition or a recurrent issue (e.g. asthma, headaches), we can keep medication in school if this is helpful to you.  Please click here for our medical information form.

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s attendance please contact Rebecca Lowe School Attendance Officer for support.  R.lowe@warriner.oxon.sch.uk  or Hazel Timms, Attendance Support Officer h.timms@warriner.oxon.sch.uk