HOW DO WE WORK TOGETHER AT WASELEY HILLS HIGH SCHOOL TO SUPPORT SCHOOL ATTENDANCE?

 

What are the times of the school day, and what happens if my child is late?

We ask that all pupils are on the school site no later than 8.40am, ready for learning to begin at 8:50am. All pupils are dismissed from school at 3:20pm.

If pupils arrive later than 8:50am, they will receive a late mark and will need to sign in at the side gate with a member of our Student Welfare Team.

Where pupils are late without a suitable reason or are repeatedly late, they may receive a consequence. Registers only remain open during AM registration, after which point pupils are marked absent.

What is good attendance?

 

It is more important than ever that children are in the classroom as much as possible. Every minute missed represents learning lost. Good attendance means being in school every day that children can attend. We will write to you with updates around your child’s attendance regularly.

Here at Waseley Hills we strive for outstanding attendance for all our students to ensure they achieve their very best. Poor school attendance can impact upon your child’s academic, social, and emotional development. We are working hard to ensure that the levels of attendance remain high and do not impact on your children’s progress at school.

It is crucial that pupils attend school as often as possible to take full advantage of learning opportunities.

• We know from research that even the slightest drop in attendance can impact on the outcomes of pupils at GCSE.
• Pupils need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education.
• Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind.
• Children with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and secondary school.

The table below demonstrates how much impact having time off school has on pupil outcomes/grades in year 11. If your child does not miss more than 6 days of school, they are more likely to have positive progress, higher attainment, and a higher number of GCSE Grades that are above 4. This will significantly impact their life chances.

Whole School Attendance Over 5 Years
Attendance	Progress 8	Attainment 8	Average number of GCSE Grades 4 and above	% of English and Maths GCSE at Grade 4 and above
No more than 6 days off school (96%)	0.22	5.14	6.31	81%
No more than 18 days off school (90%)	-0.09	4.41	5.46	71%
No more than 27 days off school (85%)	-0.23	3.93	6.00	50%
37 or more days off school (80% or lower)	-2.13	1.96	2.13	25%

• Positive progress means students are achieving more than their expected grade
• Negative progress means students are achieving less than their expected grade

 

We recognise good and improving attendance with celebrations throughout the year, and, most importantly, by maintaining excellent attendance we enable all pupils to achieve their potential and flourish at Waseley.

What is poor attendance?

Poor attendance means missing school when it is not absolutely necessary. For example, when a child is a little bit unwell but could still attend school, or missing lessons for appointments which could have been scheduled outside of school. We will write to you with updates around your child’s attendance regularly.

All students should aim to have no more 6 days throughout the school year (96%). An attendance percentage of 90% or more may seem high (we would celebrate this in an exam) but this is 19 days off school, nearly 4 weeks across a full year, equating to 95 hours of lost learning. This is why attendance impacts on pupil progress.

The below table outlines the attendance percentage that you, as a parent, can track on Arbor and features on your child’s progress reports and how this translates into the number of days absent and the learning hours lost:

 

Attendance Percentage %	Days Absent	Learning Hours Lost
100%	0	0
99%	2	10
98%	4	20
97%	5	25
96%	6	30
95%	9	45
94%	11	55
93%	13	65
92%	15	75
91%	17	85
90%	19	95
89%	21	105
88%	23	115
87%	25	125
86%	27	135
85%	29	145

 

Where pupils’ attendance is poor, the attendance support team will review what support is in place for your child and work together with families to improve this. We want to work with families to ensure all pupils have good attendance which enables them to succeed in school, so please contact us if you have concerns about your child’s attendance and we will work together to improve this.

We have a graduated wave approach to support students whose attendance is becoming a concern, this is rooted in team around the child approach where we focus on reviewing the needs of the child and family. A summary of our graduated approach is below:

 

Where we are monitoring a child because of poor attendance, we will ask families to work with our Educational and Student Welfare Officers, or the Local Authority, to secure pathways to attendance improvements. Failure to improve on poor attendance may lead to the issuing of fines as per the Worcestershire County Council Policy.

 

How should I decide if my child too ill to attend school?

The NHS has produced some excellent guidance where you can check if your child is well enough to attend school: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/. Please ensure you have checked this website before deciding to keep your child off school.

How do I inform you that my child is not going to be in school?

Children should be in school every day unless absolutely necessary. If your child is too ill for school, you should report the absence by sending an in app message on Arbor no later than 8am on each day of their absence. If for some reason you are unable to send an in app message you can call our answerphone on 0121 453 5211 .

What should I do if my child has a medical condition that may impact on their attendance?

It is really important that the attendance support team know if your child has a medical condition that may impact their attendance. This helps us to make sure they have all the support they need in school to succeed. Please ensure you have contacted Ms Whitcombe-Troth (Attendance Officer) to inform her of any medical conditions.

How do I request a leave of absence for school?

Please be aware we are unable to authorise leaves of absence from school except for in especially exceptional circumstances. Holidays should not be booked in term time.

If you would like to request a leave of absence from school, you will receive a response informing you whether it has been granted or not. You must complete your form ahead of the leave of absence. You can request a form from reception.

 

New Government Legislation:

Please note, with effect from 19^th August 2024 the Government has made changes to penalty notice fines for school non attendance. As a school we are asked to inform you that, in line with Worcestershire County Council Policy, a period of unauthorised absence may be subject to a penalty notice fine, per parent, per child of £160 if paid within 28 days, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days for a first period of unauthorised absence.

 

If a second period of unauthorised absence occurs within a 3 year timescale, this is subject to a penalty notice fine, per parent, per child, of £160 to be paid within 28 days. 

 

Failure to make payment of penalty notices issued may lead to court proceedings.

 

The third period of unauthorised leave of absence incurred within 3 years of the first penalty notice issued; a further penalty notice will not be issued. If suitable, the matter will be presented to the Magistrates’ Court under S4441 Education Act 1996.  Cases found guilty in the magistrates Court could result in a fine up to £1,000 per parent, per child, and will also hold a criminal record for failing to secure regular attendance.

 

Our key priority is to ensure that your child is as successful as possible and can achieve their full potential, we will always prioritise working with families therefore if you are concerned about potential periods of unauthorised absence please do contact the attendance team.

 

Who should I contact to discuss attendance further?

 

Our Attendance Team are on hand if you wish to discuss any concerns you have. Mrs Whitcombe-Troth (Attendance Officer) and Miss Moore (Educational Welfare Officer) are a brilliant point of contact for your attendance questions. You can contact them by emailing or calling the school office. We would also advise you can speak to your child’s class teacher or form tutor.

Our attendance support team are...