Attendance and absence

Attendance Matters

It is important that students attend school as much as possible. Ideally of course we want students to attend 100% of the time and be on time to school and all lessons. However, we do know that sometimes things happen like legitimate illness or certain approved events which have been approved by the Headteacher in advance.

The school has always aimed for a whole school attendance target to be at least 96% and to achieve this we must ensure that our students attend at all times and be on time. It is also important to know that attendance connects closely to the schools safeguarding policies and procedures, because if a student is not in school then there might be concerns about where they are or what they are doing.

We can’t compare attendance figures like an academic test. For example, 90% in a test sounds amazing, but having an attendance figure of 90% means that the student is off for a whole day every two weeks, therefore missing 4 lessons and a tutor time. 90% attendance over Year 7 to 11 would equal a whole half a year missed of school, which can’t be caught up!!

What To Do If Your Child Is Ill

  • If your child is clearly unwell in the morning, please do not send them to school in the hope that he or she will get better during the day!  You can inform us via email: attendance@yateley.hants.sch.uk.  Please include the following detail:
    • your child’s name
    • your child’s form
    • the reason for absence
    • if you believe your child will be absent for more than one day.

 

  • The Attendance Officer will text you if the school has not been notified of a student’s absence.  If you have the school app, the message will be diverted to this platform. If know your child will be absent more than one day, please let us know to prevent absence messages being sent, also, if the illness continues over a weekend, please call the following week to confirm the reason for absence.
    If a student is absent for 3 or more days this might mean that the school will be required to complete a safeguarding visit to the home to ensure the student is OK.
  • If you know in advance that your child will be absent or late, for example for a visit to a clinic, doctor, or dentist, then please email attendance@yateley.hants.sch.uk. When your child arrives in school, they should report to reception and follow the procedure for ‘late arrival’.
  • If your child is taken ill or is involved in an accident during the day, he/she will be cared for by the school nurse in the medical room until we can contact a parent. Please ensure that the school has an up-to-date emergency contact number so that we can reach you in the event of an emergency.
  • If your child has an illness that is infectious or likely to last for more than three days, please let us know as we may be able to send work home for your child.  If your child has vomited, we have a ‘do not return’ policy for 48 hours following the last bout of sickness.
  • If your child needs to take medication during the day, you should complete an ‘Administration of Medicines/Treatment Consent Form’ (available from school reception or on the VLE under ‘Parents’ Information’) and send it in with the medicine. All medicines should be clearly labelled with the child’s name and form and left in the medical room.
  • If your child has any special health needs, then please let us know. Our school nurse will be happy to talk to you about any problems. Often special care, observation and attention can be arranged to overcome difficulties.

Absence for any other reason

If your child is to attend a funeral or will be absent for any other reason please telephone the absence line or alternatively you can inform us via email: attendance@yateley.hants.sch.uk prior to the event. All absence requests which are planned need to be in writing and an absence request form can be collected from reception and will be seen by the Headteacher who is the only person in the school allowed to authorise requested absences. If the Headteacher authorises a planned absence then this will be marked accordingly. If the Headteacher does not approve the absence and the parent still goes ahead with the planned absence this would be marked as a un-authorised absence and may result in a fine.

To request leave of absence, please complete the following form and submit to school reception in sufficient time.

thumbnail of leave-of-absence-form

Late Arrival To School

If your child arrives at school after registration has taken place (in Period 1 at 08.45am), they must sign a late slip at reception. It is very important for safety reasons that we have a record of their presence on site. The House Team may telephone you to verify the reason given for lateness.

Critical & Persistent Absence

A child having an absence of 50% or less is classified as ‘Critical Absence’ by the school. A child having an absence of 90% or less is classified as ‘Persistent Absence’ by the school. These two classifications are extremely important and concerning and an area that the school will focus on with individual families that might meet these criteria with the greatest importance. The school will put into place actions and procedures to try and improve a child’s attendance which could include support from Hampshire Local Authority and also the use of our own Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) that might visit the home of the child each day.

 

For further details please refer to the detailed school Attendance Policy available here.

Attendance Policy

For complete details on our attendance policy and procedures, please do read the complete Attendance Policy which can be found on our policies page:
• Policy Page – https://www.yateleyschool.net/policies/