Absence

All absences must be reported to the office by phone (01279 657778) or email (absence@whittington.herts.sch.uk) on the first day of absence by 8.45am. The school will determine whether an absence is authorised or unauthorised. Absences for holidays, shopping, and birthday treats will not be authorised. Medical evidence need to be provided to authorise doctors, dentist, opticians etc appointments.

For children to progress in their education, it is vital that they attend school on time every day. Missing just five minutes of education at the start of each school day adds up to 15 hours lost learning time over the whole year. This is the equivalent of three school days.

As a school we carefully monitor all attendance and lateness, and work alongside educational welfare officers to address absence issues.

The school's Attendance Target is 96% .

Attendance over one school year

If a learner had:

98% attendance = fewer than 4 days absent from school

95% attendance = fewer than 10 days absent from school

90% attendance = 4 weeks absent from school

85% attendance = 5 ½ weeks absent from school

80% attendance = 7 ½ weeks absent from school (Equivalent to one day per week absence for the whole year).

A child who misses a day of school per week throughout Years 1 – 11 misses an equivalent of over two years of their learning time in school

In the event of lateness or absence, please note the following procedures:

Lateness

Our classroom doors are closed every day at 8:45am. If you arrive later than this you must bring your child to the main office for them to be signed in and they will receive a late entry mark (L).  If they arrive after the registration period ends at 9.05am they will receive an unauthorised absence mark (U).

It is important that pupils do not arrive late for school as being frequently late for school adds up to lost learning.

E.g:

Arriving 5 minutes late every day adds up to over 3 days lost each year

Arriving 15 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 2 weeks a year

Arriving 30 minutes late is the same as being absent for 19 days a year

19 days lost a year through being late = 90% attendance

Children with over 90% attendance are more likely to gain 5 or more A-C GCSEs.

Children with less than 85% attendance are unlikely to gain 5 A-C GCSEs or any qualifications.

Over the next few weeks we will be monitoring punctuality and attendance closely and we expect that your child arrives at school on time and in a suitable condition to learn.

Every school day counts towards your child’s future.