Attendance Matters

Not only do schools equip children with the knowledge and qualifications they need for later life, but they are also places where children make friends, learn new hobbies, and build on their ambitions for the future. If we want to offer every child the best chance in life, it must start with ensuring that they can regularly attend school.

Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner 2023

At Lacon Childe School we are committed to supporting all our students to attend school every day as we recognise that being around friends and teachers is the best way for students to learn and reach their full potential. 

We strongly believe that education is a right and we know that if we want to give our students the best start in life, we must ensure that we work alongside our families and other stakeholders to break down the barriers and challenges facing our young people. Being in school is imperative to every student’s achievement, wellbeing, and wider development.  Plus, evidence shows that the students with the highest attendance throughout their time in school gain the best GCSE and A Level results. (Department for Education May 2023). 

As parents/carers, you have a legal duty to ensure your child receives a full-time education. We ask you to work with us to promote a culture that celebrates good attendance.

To report student absence, please:

Email  attendance@laconchildeschool.co.uk 

Leave a phone message on 01299 270312, option 1.  (There is no functionality in Arbor to report absence). You must report absence before 8.45am on the first day and each subsequent day of absence. 

There are only a small number of circumstances where missing a school day is permitted. Your child must attend every day that the school is open, unless: 

• Your child is too ill to attend. 
• You have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on a specific day due to exceptional circumstances. 
• Your child cannot go to school on a specific day because they are observing a religious event. 
• Your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it is not available or has not been provided yet. 

These are the only circumstances where schools can permit your child to be absent.

We encourage families to contact the schools and speak to form tutors, heads of year, and pastoral support staff to discuss any concerns that you may have around your child’s attendance.  

MISSED LEARNING TIME

There is strong statistical evidence to show that students who have excellent attendance are more successful in school and achieve to a significantly higher standard. The table below highlights the link between attendance and lost learning.

Attendance Support:

Sometimes your child may not want to attend school. We understand this and we encourage parents/carers and students to be open and honest with us about the reasons for absence. If your child does not want to attend school, it is never better to cover up their absence or give in to pressure to let your child stay at home. This can give the impression to your child that attendance does not matter and can make things worse. As a school, we need to understand the reasons why your child may not want to attend school so we can support you and your child in the best way possible. For students with medical conditions or other circumstances that may at times prevent regular attendance, we will fully support each student to be able to attend as much as possible. Our school will use an individual health plan and will work alongside other relevant professionals such as health colleagues, and yourselves, to best support them. Please see below a list of just some of the support we offer our students to aid their attendance:

• Administration of medicine- with your permission

• Homework club
• Uniform support
• Pastoral support
• Character academy offer
• Mental health and wellbeing support Click here

Unexplained or extended absence:

All our schools follow appropriate procedures when carrying out reasonable enquiries e.g. discussions with the designated safeguarding lead (DSL), relatives, landlords etc to determine whether a child may be at risk of harm. There may be occasion where we have been unable to contact parents/carers after two days and have no information as to the whereabouts of the child. In that case, the school will do a home visit. We inform the local authority of any student who has missed ten school days or more without permission. When appropriate, the school’s DSL will make a referral to social services and/or police.

Unexplained or extended absences (3 or more days absent) will trigger safeguarding procedures, which may include home visits and communication with relevant agencies. If our school has any safeguarding concerns about a student who is absent, we will share information with other agencies as we deem necessary to ensure a child’s safety and well-being. Parents/carers should refer to Four Stones Gateway Trust Safeguarding Policy found on each school’s website click here. If our school is unable to work in partnership with you as parents/carers, we may refer to the Local Authority. We will only ever do this if everything else has failed. We hope as parents/carers you will work with us to best support your child, so this does not need to happen.

Punctuality Matters:

As well as attendance, punctuality to school and lessons is equally as important. Just a small amount of time missed due to being late has a significant impact over an academic year as shown in the table below:

Please support your child to achieve their potential by ensuring they are in school every day and are punctual.

Students are expected to be in school, at their year group meeting point by 8.45am. If for any reason students arrive after 8.45am they should report to reception to sign in, where staff will mark them as late (code L). Students who arrive after 9.10am should report to main reception where staff will mark them as late – after 9.10am this is considered an unauthorised absence (code U). This will affect their attendance percentage and will impact on their learning.