Dear Parent /Guardian
One of the most important factors leading to success in school is actually being in school full time and avoiding absence unless absolutely necessary. Every day really does count with its opportunity for learning – and ‘catching up’ or ‘copying up’ missed work can never be the same as being in class with all its opportunities for interaction, developing skills and asking questions.
Government definitions say that persistent absence is less than 90% but while 95% attendance might sound good, that would equate to missing two weeks of lessons over the course of a year while 90% attendance is the same as missing four weeks of class. Research shows that for every 10% of class missed a student is likely to drop one grade at GCSE.
It is the legal responsibility of all parents/guardians to make sure that their child is in school.
Attendance at Cardinal Langley is good and in line with national averages however we want to make it better and ensure a quick response when issues arise so that we can support students and their
parents/guardians in improving attendance where there might be concerns.
The ‘Every Day Counts’ policy will mean that
~ Attendance is monitored every three weeks by Pastoral and Academic leaders and a member of the Leadership Team
~ Good attendance will be rewarded and promoted
~ Letters of concern will be sent when attendance falls below 95%
~ There will be an escalating set of interventions when attendance avoidably falls below 90% and shows no improvement. This could involve meetings with staff, governors, medical personnel and the involvement of the Local Authority as well as the Education Welfare Officer.
Headteachers are not permitted to authorise leave of absence for holidays in term time. Unauthorised leave of absence of 5 school days or more will automatically trigger the issue of a penalty notice by the local authority.