Attendance
Good attendance is perhaps the single most important factor in determining whether a student makes progress commensurate with their ability. A single day’s absence means at least two days’ loss of progress.
We advise all parents that students should attend school every day unless there is a genuine reason for absence i.e. too poorly to attend school, an essential medical appointment or due to unforeseen circumstances.
Parents, by law, are responsible for ensuring that:
- Their children receive full time education
- Their children regularly attend education
All schools within WPT work with our families to promote good attendance and support our parents to ensure all students are in school, learning, as often as possible. It is our ambition for all schools across WPT to significantly exceed local authority and national average regarding attendance and persistent absenteeism.
The Attendance Team
Karl Owen
Assistant Headteacher – Attendance
Zubair Khan
Head of Year – Attendance
Nicola Kent
Attendance Manager
Jan Brown
Education Welfare Officer
Karen Radford
Attendance Administrator
Attendance Hotline:
01709 850471 extension 1
If your child is ill and does need to be off school please contact the attendance office.
We will need to know:
- Your child’s name.
- Why they are not in school
- When they will be back in school.
Reward and Recognition
Annual Rewards
- Award Assemblies – 100% attendance award and most improved attendance award
- Year Group Incentive League – leading to annual reward trip or event
- GCSE Presentation Evening – 100% during Year 11 and more than 1 year trophy/voucher
- Year 11 passport to prom incentive
Termly/Half Termly – The 100 Club
The 100 Club gives students access to half termly rewards through their privilege cards. The 100 Club:
- Runs throughout the year with pit stops (monthly, half termly, termly etc). Individual reward for 100% attendance
- Exclusive member of the club. Wristband/badge/credit card to show part of the ‘club’
- Rewards those who attend 100%. Also awards those that who have shown improvement in their attendance
- Big event per half term, termly and yearly – unexpected/themed awards (e.g. selection box, candy floss, donut etc). Different rewards dependent upon level in club
Ongoing Reward and Recognition
As well as the above, we utilise a whole host of additional reward and recognition to praise and encourage good attendance and punctuation. Initiatives include certificates, letters, emails and phone calls home, social media recognition, and praise in Form Tutor Time.
Holidays in Term Time
Parents are requested not to arrange family holidays during term time.
You should not expect school to agree to an absence for a holiday in term time – the law says that parents do not have the right to take their child out of school for holidays during term time.
If you feel there are exceptional circumstances why your child needs to be absent from school, you should apply, in advance, by writing to the headteacher explaining clearly the dates and reasons you are requesting leave of absence.
If the school refuses a request for leave of absence and the child is still taken out of school this will be recorded as unauthorised absence and noted in the child’s record.
You may also receive a penalty notice for the period of absence.
Please note: all absences on the last day of term will be unauthorised unless we have medical evidence. This will count towards the fining process.
Consequences for Students with Poor Attendance / Punctuality
Students with poor attendance, and/or poor levels of punctuality, will not be eligible for the same level of reward and recognition as those whose attendance and punctuality are in line with school expectation.
Students with poor attendance and/or punctuality may not be allowed to:
- Represent the school in any sporting events
- Participate in school productions
- Attend any school visits or trips that are not a compulsory part of the school curriculum
- Participate in student leadership opportunities
- Be eligible for any student privilege clubs
- Attend the Year 11 Prom
Students with poor attendance and/or punctuality should expect:
- Regular communication with parents regarding their attendance
- Be placed on the WPT Absence Monitoring and Intervention Pathway
- Removal of privileges such as break and lunch times
- Bespoke interventions to support in raising attendance in line with WPT Waves of
- Intervention
- Be subject to an attendance support plan
- Be subject to the WPT Graduated Response for Attendance
- Be subject to an Attendance Panel with the Chair of Governors
- Be subject to prosecution through the FPN process
Absence Monitoring
At school we monitor all absences. Early intervention is a significant factor in limiting student absence and ultimately improving student attendance. We ensure that a rigorous attendance monitoring and family support system works in partnership with our parents in their statutory duty of ensuring their children attend school regularly. This system will add an additional layer of support before the punitive Fixed Penalty Notice pathway directed by the Department for Education and the Local Authority.
Our attendance monitoring system implements 5 phases of intervention prior to pursuing the Fixed Penalty Notice Pathway. This can be seen below.
Fixed Penalty Notices
In Rotherham and Lincolnshire Fixed Penalty Notices are issued by the Local Authority to avoid
duplicate notices. This ensures consistent and equitable application of policy, protects school-home relationships and allows alignment with other enforcement sanctions and statutory interventions. Fixed Penalty Notices will only be issued for offences where the Local Authority is willing and able to prosecute and that are agreed at either the Local Authority School Attendance Panel (LASAP) or the FPN panel.
The Local Authority will ensure that the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices will be closely monitored to ensure that recipients pay the relevant fine. In instances where the penalty is not paid within the appropriate period, the Local Authority will prosecute.
- A Fixed Penalty Notice can only be issued in cases of unauthorised absence
- The Local Authority will receive requests to issue Fixed Penalty Notices from schools and requests will be screened to ensure adequate evidence of support and intervention, as required by the pathway, is submitted
