St Patrick’s Academy Achieving excellence together

1. St Patrick’s Academy Achieving excellence together ATTENDANCE POLICY The Academy aims to promote the maximum attendance from all our students so they may achieve their full potential. Students who have 100% attendance throughout the year will receive special commendation. Poor attendance impacts negatively on pupil performance. In view of this we acknowledge our fundamental role in ensuring good patterns of attendance and also acknowledge parents’ legal responsibility to ensure that their children attend school regularly.

2. St Patrick’s Academy 100% AttendanceRecords for last five years highlight a steady upward trend

3. St Patrick’s Academy Special awards for 100% Attendance 2011-12 KS3 Year 10 Prize giving 6 students achieved three years full attendance KS4 Year 12 Prize giving 8 students achieved five years full attendance KS5 Year 14 Prize giving 2 students achieved seven years full attendance

4. Raise Your Child’s Attendance!Raise their Chances! • What does “Good attendance” mean?

5. Do you know what your child's attendance is? • Do you know what it means? ?

6. This is Simon. He is in Year 8 and has 90% attendance. • What does this mean? • Is that good?

7. Simon thinks this is pretty good, so do his parents. Are they right? 90% attendance =½ day missed every week!! (Would your boss like you to be off work this much??). That’s practically part time! Absent half a day every week

8. Lets looks a little closer….. 1 school year at 90% attendance = 4whole weeks of lessons MISSED!!! 38 school weeks Absent for 4 weeks

9. 90% attendance over 5 years of secondary school…. =½a school year missed!

10. What impact might this have on Simon’s life……? Research suggests that 17 missed schooldays a year = GCSE grade DROPin achievement. (DfES) The greater the attendance the greater the achievement.

11. Remember – the higher the attendance – the greater the achievement!!! • 93% attendance will give you a 73% chance of achieving 5 A*-C grades in your GCSE’s • Below 90% will give you only a 27% chance of achieving 5 A*-C grades in your GCSE’s

12. What could Simon’s potential earnings look like? Graduate degree £15.01 per hour A levels £10.25 per hour GCSE’s £9.02 per hour. no qualifications £7.44 per hour. Potential Earnings average per hour Qualifications What do you want for your child?

13. Students who have absenteeism problems generally suffer not only academically, but also socially. • Their irregular attendance at school, means they are isolated from school experiences and from their friends. • This in turn creates further obstacles to good attendance

14. So 90% is not as good as it first seemed. What can do as a parent to increase my child's attendance? I

15. Ways for parents to encourageattendance: • Find out regularly what your child's attendance/punctuality record is and checkthis matches with your own record. • Talk regularly with your child about school and how they feel about it. They are more likely to attend if they feel supported and have their anxieties listened to.

16. Ways for parents to encourage attendance: • Phone us as soon as possible or reply to the automated call service telling us why your child is absent and when he/she will return to school. • Only grant days at home for genuine illness. (you will know the difference!!) Remember we have a school nurse on site!! • Make dental/medical or other appointments outside school hours. • Avoid taking holidays in school time.

17. Ways for parents to encourage attendance: • Know routines of the school day to avoid issues, e.g. have they got their PE kit? • Make sure your son/daughter is in school on time • If you have concerns ring us – we will check attendance and be discreet • PRAISE and REWARD GOOD ATTENDANCE and PUNCTUALITY

18. Other tips to help secure good attendance: • If there is a problem with your child’s attendance, talk calmly to your child and listen to the explanation. There is always an explanation. It may not impress you, but it counted enough with your child to make them truant. So pursuing the reason for non attendance is important. • Talk to us to resolve issues. We may be able to help and support you and your child. You are not alone.

19. Other tips to help secure good attendance: • Be particularly watchful and supportive in the run up to tests and aware of coursework deadlines. • Check homework diary regularly for gaps as well as completed activities. • Help them catch up with missed work, a missed day will mean missed work. • Remember PRAISE good attendance.

20. RECAP– Student Code of Conduct • “Every pupil should aim for full attendance. Recognition will be given to those who achieve full attendance. A casual approach to attendance is not acceptable. Any pupil returning to school after a period of absence must, on the day of return, present to his/her form teacher an explanatory letter from a parent/guardian. Failure to supply an explanatory note after an absence, by the third day after return to school, will result in detention.”

21. Punctuality: • Pupils must be punctual for school. They must be in by 8:50, at the latest, to ensure that they are in their registration rooms/year assembly by 8:55. Pupils who arrive after this time must report to reception, where the time and the reason for lateness will be recorded. Any pupil who is late for a valid reason must provide a note from a parent/guardian. A pupil who is late, without a valid reason/note, more than once, in any given month, will be required to do after-school detention.

22. Attend and Achieve! • Please help us and your child by ensuring their attendance remains above at least 96%, allowing them to achieve their potential. Thank you