Ref: MAN/ARE
10th February 2017
Dear Parent/Carer,
For students to achieve their full potential it is vital that their attendance is as high as possible. We
have recently reviewed our attendance policy and procedures with the aim of working more closely
with parents and carers in order to further improve the attendance of our pupils.
A full version of our new policy can be found on our website and we would ask that you take some time
to review it in full.
However, there are some key areas we would like to bring to your attention before we start working
with our new policy after the half-term break. These are outlined below:
Informing us about your child’s absence:
We understand that there are times when a student has to miss school due to illness. Please keep
these occasions as brief and as infrequent as possible.
In these circumstances we would request that parents or carers contact school by text on 07624 881
315 (or the MyEd free app) stating your child’s name, form, reason for absence and expected date of
return , or by telephone on 01457 872072 if you need to speak to a member of staff. Please do this by
9.00 am on each day of absence.
Unexplained/Unexpected absences:
If we haven’t had contact from parents/carers to inform us of a student’s absence by 9.00am on the
first day of absence the following steps will be taken:
Day 1: Our Pastoral team will contact parents/carers by phone to confirm a student’s absence; the
reason for this absence and the expected date of return. This will take place between 9.00-10.00am.
Day 2: If a student is still absent and we have been unable to speak to a student’s parent/carer about
an absence a second attempt to make contact will be made.
Day 3: If a student is still absent and we have been unable to speak to a student’s parent/carer about
an absence our Attendance Improvement Officer will undertake a home visit in order to ascertain the
nature of the absence.
Working with parents where attendance becomes a concern:
We are endeavouring to work more closely with parents/carers to ensure high levels of attendance
from all of our pupils. All pupils should aim for 100% attendance; however we understand that this is
not always possible.
From half-term onwards we will be using a staged approach to improving student attendance. We hope
that this will ensure that all of our pupils have the support they need to attend school regularly. Full
details of the stages can be found in the full version of the policy on the website.
If you need any further information please contact our Attendance Improvement Officer, Mrs Dorobat
([email protected]) or myself.
Yours sincerely,
Mr M Anderson
Assistant Headteacher
[email protected]