Student Attendance
Every Day Matters
At The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School, we want every student to belong, flourish and achieve their potential. Being in school, on time and ready to learn is an essential part of making that possible.
Excellent attendance is about much more than academic achievement. Coming to school regularly helps young people to build strong relationships, establish positive routines, take part in the wider life of the school and feel connected to their community.
The evidence is clear: regular attendance supports learning, wellbeing and wider development and is an important protective factor for children and young people.
Our approach to attendance is therefore based on high expectations, early support and partnership with families. When attendance begins to fall, we want to understand why and work together to help students get back on track.
Why Does Attendance Matter?
Every day in school brings opportunities: another lesson understood, another conversation with a friend, another sporting fixture, rehearsal, club, assembly or experience that helps a young person grow.
When students miss school regularly, those individual lessons and experiences quickly add up.
Department for Education evidence shows a clear relationship between absence and attainment. For example, Year 11 students who miss between two and four weeks of school have around half the odds of achieving a grade 5 in both English and mathematics compared with otherwise similar students who attend regularly.
- Attendance also matters beyond examination results. Regular attendance helps students to:
- keep up with their learning and avoid gaps in knowledge;
- develop confidence and positive learning habits;
- maintain friendships and a sense of belonging;
- participate fully in enrichment, sport, trips, leadership and the wider life of JHN;
- access pastoral, safeguarding and wellbeing support; and
- establish the routines and habits that prepare them for Sixth Form, further education, university, apprenticeships and employment.
What Does Attendance Look Like Over a School Year?
|
Attendance |
Approximate time missed |
|
100% |
No learning missed |
|
97% |
Around 6 school days |
|
95% |
Around 10 school days |
|
90% |
Around 19 school days |
|
85% |
Around 29 school days |
90% attendance means missing approximately one day of school every fortnight.
A student whose attendance falls below 90% is considered persistently absent nationally. Our aim is to intervene well before attendance reaches this point.
“Attendance is not simply a percentage. Behind every percentage are lessons, friendships, experiences and opportunities.”
Our Approach: Support First
Sometimes there is a clear reason why attending school becomes difficult.
Illness, anxiety, bereavement, family circumstances, SEND, friendship difficulties or other barriers can all affect attendance. We do not assume that every attendance difficulty has the same cause.
When we identify a concern, our first priority is to listen and understand.
We will work with the student and their family to identify barriers, agree appropriate support and establish a plan for improvement. Depending on the circumstances, this may involve the Form Tutor, Learning Coordinator, Attendance Team, Director of School, SEND, Wellbeing, Safeguarding or appropriate external services.
This reflects the national approach to attendance: schools and families working in partnership, identifying barriers early and providing support before patterns of absence become established.
When Should My Child Stay at Home?
We recognise that students will occasionally be too unwell to attend school.
Parents and carers can use the NHS/DfE guidance 'Is my child too ill for school?' to help decide whether a child needs to remain at home.
Is my child too ill for school? - NHS
Where a health condition is affecting attendance over a longer period, please contact us. We would much rather know about a difficulty early so that we can discuss what support or reasonable adjustments may be appropriate.
Reporting an Absence
If your child is unable to attend school because of illness, please notify the school on each day of absence.
Attendance Officer: Mrs Mees
Telephone: 01438 314 643 - select option 1 for absences
Email: attendance@jhn.herts.sch.uk
Please provide your child's name, year group and the reason for their absence.
If we have not received an explanation for an absence, the school will contact you.
Punctuality Matters Too
Being in school is important - and so is being on time.
Arriving late means that students can miss important instructions and learning at the beginning of lessons. It can also make the start of the day more stressful for the student and disrupt established routines.
Students should arrive at school with sufficient time to be ready for the start of the school day.
Students arriving late must sign in through Student Services before going to lessons.
Where punctuality becomes a concern, we will work with students and families to understand the reason and support improvement.
Medical and Dental Appointments
Wherever possible, routine medical and dental appointments should be arranged outside school hours.
We recognise that this is not always possible. Where an appointment must take place during the school day, students should attend school before and/or after the appointment wherever practicable so that the amount of learning missed is kept to a minimum.
Parents and carers should provide the school with details of the appointment in advance.
Leave of Absence During Term Time
Parents and carers should not normally take their child out of school during term time.
Headteachers may only grant a leave of absence where they consider there to be exceptional circumstances. Family holidays are not generally considered exceptional circumstances.
Requests for leave of absence must therefore be made, to the hedteacher, in advance and before any arrangements are confirmed.
Unauthorised absence may result in a referral to the Local Authority and consideration of a penalty notice or other legal intervention.
Under the national framework, schools must consider a penalty notice where the threshold of 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a rolling period of 10 school weeks is reached. A first penalty notice is £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 if paid within 28 days. A second notice for the same parent and child within three years is £160.
Our priority, however, is always to work with families to secure good attendance wherever support can help.
Working Together
Parents and carers make an enormous difference to attendance.
You can help by establishing good morning and evening routines, making attendance the expectation, arranging appointments outside school hours wherever possible and contacting us early if your child is experiencing difficulties.
Equally, we have a responsibility to listen.
If your child is finding attending school difficult, please talk to us. Early conversations give us the best opportunity to understand what is happening and put appropriate support in place.
Attendance works best when school, student and family work together.
Need Help With Attendance?
Please do not wait until attendance has fallen significantly before contacting us.
Attendance Officer: Mrs Mees
Email: attendance@jhn.herts.sch.uk
Telephone: 01438 314 643
You can also contact your child's Form Tutor or Learning Coordinator if there is a pastoral issue affecting attendance.
Useful Links
Is my child too ill for school? - NHS
