Equivalent days
9
If your son is unwell, please contact the school before 9.30am on the same day to let us know.
Regular school attendance is an important part of giving young people the best possible start in life. The aim should be to attend 100% of the time. Students who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well in exams. Good attendance also shows potential employers that a young person is reliable.
The section below shows the impact absence from school will have on lost learning.
We recognise the foundation of securing good attendance is that our school is a calm, orderly, safe, and supportive environment where all pupils want to be and are keen and ready to learn.
The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.
Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.
In the case of a child’s absence being as a consequence of medical need, we are keen to work closely with parents/carers to ensure that education provision is maintained.
Where voluntary support has not been effective and/or has not been engaged with, we will work with partners, including the local authority, to formalise and intensify the support. As part of the measures introduced, if a pupil has 10 sessions of absence within a 10-week period, the pupil’s parent(s)/carer(s) may receive a ‘Notice to Improve’ notification sent via email or letter. Please refer to our Attendance Policy for full guidance.
Equivalent days
9
Equivalent sessions
18
Equivalent weeks
2
Equivalent missed lessons
54
Equivalent days
19
Equivalent sessions
38
Equivalent weeks
4
Equivalent missed lessons
114
Equivalent days
29
Equivalent sessions
58
Equivalent weeks
6
Equivalent missed lessons
174
Equivalent days
38
Equivalent sessions
72
Equivalent weeks
8
Equivalent missed lessons
228
Equivalent days
48
Equivalent sessions
96
Equivalent weeks
10
Equivalent missed lessons
288
Equivalent days
57
Equivalent sessions
114
Equivalent weeks
11.5
Equivalent missed lessons
342
Equivalent days
67
Equivalent sessions
134
Equivalent weeks
13.5
Equivalent missed lessons
402
Parents should report their child’s absence each day either by email to absence@sjwms.org.uk or via the My Child at School app.
To report your son/daughter’s absence via the MCAS app, see below:
To send a text via My Child At School:
In addition, parents can send a text to the ‘virtual number’ (07860054468) we occasionally use to send text messages out.
If no contact is received to explain an absence, the school’s Attendance Officer will follow up the absence and make contact with parents.
Students are expected to be in their form rooms by 8.25am. Frequent lateness can mean that students miss vital information which is distributed at morning registration. If students arrive after 8.30am, they must report to Reception and sign the late register.
Parents who want attendance support should contact the relevant pastoral office (lowerschool@sjwms.org.uk; middleschool@sjwms.org.uk; sixthform@sjwms.org.uk) or the school office (office@sjwms.org.uk).
Attendance is the single most important determinant of a child’s likely success at school. Therefore we take attendance, absence and medical care extremely seriously. A child who has an attendance record of 90% misses more than three weeks in a school year, or put another way, nearly half a school year by the time they reach the end of year 11. Most pupils will have an attendance rate in excess of 95% and as a school we aim for 97% across the whole school cohort. Parents who are concerned about their child’s attendance should contact the pastoral teams at the school who will be able to offer guidance and support. View the attendance and medical policies, using the link below.