Attendance
Attendance and Punctuality
The purpose of school is to make our students well rounded individuals, equip them with social skills and prepare them for life after school. To do all of this, students must attend school on a persistent basis.
Will missing one day affect my child?
Attendance is directly linked to attainment. In simple terms, if a child has attendance over 95% then they are highly likely to achieve grades well above those students with less than 95%. Research from DfE states “Pupils who did not achieve grades 9-4 in English and maths GCSEs in 2019 had an absence rate of 8.8%, compared with 5.2% among pupils who achieved grade 4 in both subjects, and 3.7% among pupils who achieved grade 5 or above.”
Attendance percentages can be broken down into missed lessons and days in the table below:
How can I help my child to have strong attendance?
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Ensure that alarms are set, and students are in good sleeping routines.
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Remove all electronic devices when in bed.
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Ensure that your child’s uniform and bag are prepared the night before.
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Ensure that your child leaves for school in plenty of time to allow for any mishaps on the way.
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Try to schedule all appointments out with school time or ensure that they attend either side of the appointment.
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Do not book trips or allow days off for treats/family occasions. There are 13 weeks of school holidays to do this.
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Discuss any worries or difficulties with the school as soon as they arise.
Should my child attend school?
If your child has a temperature of over 38oC then they should stay at home, otherwise we will always be expecting them to attend. We like to correlate school to the real world, and we can’t take a day off every time we feel run down or we would face disciplinary action.
Most children can feel better after some over the counter medicine and some rest, so please encourage them to attend the afternoon session of school.
If your child is refusing to attend then call the school attendance line to let them know, and a member of the year team will assist in getting them in.
How do I report my child as absent?
All absences must be reported before 8.30am each day, using our dedicated absence line 02077228141, option 1. Please leave your child’s first and last name, their tutor group and the reason for their absence clearly on the answering machine.
If you know your child is going to be absent, please let us know in advance.
Written notification, giving the details of all absences, must be given to the Attendance Officer/Head of Year/PSM on your child’s return to school. If your child has been absent due to a medical appointment, please bring in a copy of the appointment card/hospital letter or the screen shot from your mobile phone.
Unexplained absences will be unauthorised by the school.
Absences of 5 or more days must be supported by medical evidence. Absence of 5 or more days without supporting medical evidence will not be authorised.
Holidays during term time will not be authorised and will result in a Fixed Penalty Notice and Prosecution.
Any form of unauthorised absence may be subject to a Fixed Penalty Notice from the Local Authority or a Referral for Early Help Intervention.
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Year 7 – a.aljuneidi@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk
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Year 8 – femi.osenie@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk
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Year 9 – m.osman@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk
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Year 10 – d.olivermorgan@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk
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Sixth Form – s.shadabsiddiqui@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk, s.hayle1@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk
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Attendance Officer – suzana.azizi@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk
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Attendance Lead – amanda.gibson@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk
