Attendance
"No matter how you feel get up, dress up, show up and never give up."
Regina Brett
Attendance expectations at Kings Langley School
At Kings Langley School we want students to attend school every day to ensure they benefit from experience and opportunities the school offers. Regular attendance at school is essential to ensure uninterrupted progress and to enable children to fulfil their potential. There is a clear link between good attendance and students achieving the top grades in public examinations.
From 1 September 2015, the Government reduced the threshold from 15% to 10%. This will now class a student with attendance below 90% as a persistent absentee, compared with the previous figure of 85%, regardless of whether the school has authorised or unauthorised the absence. This equates 19 days of absence across the year. Minor ailments, such as a headache or slight cold, are not acceptable reasons for failing to attend school.
We are confident that parents are keen to work with us to ensure that all students meet the new threshold requirements since it is clear that this will have a positive effect on their learning. However, where there are repeated absences, the school may request parents to obtain medical evidence from a doctor’s surgery or local pharmacy as recommended by the Government. Where attendance becomes problematic and persistent making it impossible for your child to make satisfactory progress further action may be taken which could involve legal proceedings.
What happens if my child's absence goes below 90%
Attendance below 90% is considered ‘Persistent Absenteeism’. We know some children have medical conditions which at times can affect their ability to attend school, however for the majority they should be in school full time. Our Attendance Improvement Officer monitors our attendance carefully and looks at individual cases in meetings with our Attendance Manager and Heads of Year and Learning Mentors. We will ask you to provide appointment cards or medical notes in order to be able to authorise your child’s absence if it dips below 90%.
Every half day absence from school has to be classified by the school (not the parent/carer) as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. This is why information about the cause of absence is always required. When providing this information please give the student’s name and surname, form group, parent/carer name and reason for absence.
The Attendance Improvement Officer is normally informed of unauthorised absence and home visits often result.
What if my child is unwell?
All absences must be notified by telephone by 8.15am on the first day of absence stating the reason. Parents should then notify the school on each subsequent day of absence.
If a student is absent from registration and the school has not been notified, a text message will be sent notifying you of the absence and requesting you contact the school to provide a reason.
The absence telephone number is 01923 264504 option 2.
Authorised absences
Please note that the decision of whether or not to authorise an absence rests with the school. Written requests are required for all absences using the application for leave of absence form (see below). All medical appointments should be taken out of school where possible, however if your child is receiving medical or dental treatment, evidence should be provided.
Students leaving the school site during the day for medical appointments etc. must have a note from parents stating the reason for leaving school. All students will need to be collected from the main reception to ensure a hand over takes place.
It is absolutely vital that any student leaving the school site during the day signs out at reception and then signs back in again on their return to school. In addition an adult must collect the student from the school. This procedure is particularly important in case of a fire drill or emergency evacuation.
We are likely to authorise absences for genuine illness, medical and dental appointments. We will not authorise absences for shopping trips, birthdays or other preventable absences. The full list of absence codes are contained in our attendance policy.
What time should my child be at school?
All students are expected through the school gates by 8.35am to ensure that they are in tutor time by 8.40am. Students who are late to school should expect to serve a detention to make up the time that has been lost if there is no valid reason for being late.
Signing-in late
All students who arrive late to school must sign in at reception.
If a student has not signed in as late, parents will receive a message from our attendance management system, as we will not be aware of their reason for absence.
Please be aware that we check the attendance of every child who is marked in the register as absent without exception. This includes the Sixth Form students.
Holidays
Holidays during term time are only permitted in exceptional circumstances and only with the explicit permission of the Headteacher. Any requests for holiday during term time must be made in writing using the application for leave of absence form (see below). Parents should be aware that holidays taken during term time will have a highly detrimental impact on a child's learning.
Additional information
For any further information please see our Attendance Policy.
