Attendance and attainment

We expect our students to aim to maintain their attendance at 100%. Every school day counts, and education is too important to miss. That is why we recognise and reward excellent and improved attendance through a variety of incentives including prizes and end of term celebrations.

It is a legal requirement to ensure students attend school every day – and on time. Being in school is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and wider development. Children who are regularly absent from school miss opportunities that can affect their life chances. The latest government research and evidence shows that the students with the highest attendance throughout their time in school gain the best GCSE and A Level results.

We reward our students that have a good attendance score. This summer 178 of our students received a lovely big bar of chocolate from the Attendance and Attainment Team.

Our top attendance performers were entered in a prize draw at the end of the summer term. Three lucky winners won a gift voucher including our student Yann (pictured above) who won an Amazon.com voucher. He was entered into the prize draw for his attendance score of 99.30%.

Children who are regularly absent from school miss opportunities that can affect their life chances.

Every day that a child is absent from school is a day of lost learning. For some parents, 90% may seem like an acceptable level of attendance. The reality is that 90% attendance means that your child will miss 19 days of school during the school year – a total of nearly four school weeks and this level of absence can have a detrimental impact on progress and results.

We want to support parents and carers in their work to ensure their children attend school, even if they are a little under the weather from time to time with a particular ailment or injury.

Our school is very well-equipped to support students to remain in school with colds / flu / headaches / bugs and other day to day ailments. Although being in lessons will always be a priority, this can involve a different working environment that is well ventilated, quiet and allows hydration and toilet access. This allows your child to continue their learning in supportive surroundings.

If a student needs to be out of school for a pre-arranged morning medical appointment, they should return to school for the afternoon session. This minimises disruption and safeguards their opportunity to learn.

If a student has a physical injury, support in the form of a lift pass, a lunch queue pass, access to a student helper to support movement around the school, and lots of other options of support help to ensure that it is still possible for students to attend school.

To report an absence phone 0191 460 6004 (press option 2)

All absences must be reported by 8.40am.

You need to make sure that your child is attending school every day and on time. You will be breaking the law if you fail to do so unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The Education Act 1996 states that: “If a child of compulsory school age, who is a registered pupil at a school, fails to attend regularly at the school, his parent is guilty of an offence”.

There are two offences relating to parental responsibility for ensuring regular attendance at school or alternative provision:

If a registered pupil is absent without authorisation, then the parent is guilty of an offence under Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996. A conviction for this offence can result in a fine of up to £1,000.
If the parent knows that their child is failing to attend regularly at the school and fails to cause him/her to do so, he/she is guilty of an offence under Section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996. This is known as an aggravated offence. A conviction for this offence may result in a substantial fine up to a maximum of £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months and/or a community penalty.

Establish a good routine in the mornings and evenings so that your child is prepared for the school day ahead.
Make sure your child attends school daily and follows the school rules.
Ensure your child arrives at school on time.
Always arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours.
Always inform the school if your child is absent.
If your child is not attending school as you expect they may be putting themselves at risk – Who are they with? What are they doing?
Take family holidays outside term time- holidays in Term Time will result in a Fixed Penalty Fine.
Talk to your child about school and take an interest in their schoolwork (including homework).
Attend parent evenings and school events.
Praise and reward your child’s achievements at school.
Always support school staff in their efforts to promote a positive attitude to learning.
Discuss any problems or difficulties with the school – staff are here to help and will be supportive.

Stage 1

Initial concern sent out to parents explaining the impact of poor attendance on student welfare and outcomes.

Stage 2

Second letter send out to parents detailing the legal responsibility of parents alongside a parent survey. This gives the attendance team more information to help to support attendance improvement. The student’s attendance is monitored for 10 days following this intervention.

Stage 3

Student currently has an attendance percentage of 93% or below.
Student has unauthorised absences codes in the previous ten school days and has previously been issued Stage 2.

Parents and carers will be issued with an Attendance Action Plan during a meeting with the Attendance Team. This will allow the school to work alongside the family to support improved attendance. The student’s attendance will then be monitored for twenty school days.

Stage 4

If the Attendance Team believes it has exhausted all possible strategies, a referral to the Local Authority will be made for enforcement action and legal proceedings will commence.

The school day starts at 8:45am. Students will receive a late mark if they arrive after this time. The register closes at 9.30 am. If a student arrives after registration has closed, they will receive a U mark which is an unauthorised absence.

Please give the school as much notice as possible of any medical appointments that are due to take place during the school day. Where possible, appointments should be made out of school time. If this is not possible, your child should only miss the minimum amount of lesson time. If a student is well enough, they should return to school following the appointment.

If you are asked for medical evidence you will need to provide copies of GP appointment cards or letters, medication details or any other relevant information. Failure to provide this will result in an unauthorised absence.

Any child or young person who is absent from school due to a holiday will miss important learning and will fall behind with their schoolwork.

In each school year there are 190 statutory school days, allowing plenty of opportunities for holidays to be arranged outside term time. Holidays taken during term time are recorded as an unauthorised absence and could result in parents with parental responsibility being issued with a fine.

The school’s request form for a leave of absence is available here.

The following people are here to support you if you are experiencing difficulties getting your child into school.

Mrs E Oliver, Attendance Family Support Worker eoliver@kingsmeadow.org.uk

Mr D O’Connell, Assistant Attendance Family Support Worker do’connell@kingsmeadow.org.uk

Mr G Dunlop, Assistant Headteacher gdunlop@kingsmeadow.org.uk

Pastoral support

Mrs C Richardson – Assistant Headteacher, Safeguarding and standards

Ms A Lowery – Head of House

Mrs S Robson – Head of House

Ms N Clay – Assistant Head of House

Mr D Milton – Assistant Head of House

Mr B Overend – Assistant Head of House