Attendance

At Sacred Heart we expect regular school attendance and good punctuality for our students to ensure that they maximise the educational opportunities available to them. There is clear evidence of strong links between good GCSE outcomes and good school attendance.

Educational excellence, kindness, respect and community are the foundations for our approach to leading and managing attendance at the school, this is underpinned by our values; We Care, We Challenge, We Commit.

Our Attendance Expectations

View Our Attendance Policy

Attendance - What parents can do to support their child’s attendance

Absences from school can have significant impacts on a child’s academic and personal development. Here’s a breakdown of the potential consequences:

Attainment Levels: Regular attendance is closely linked to academic success. Missing school often leads to gaps in knowledge and skills, making it harder for students to catch up. Over time, this can result in lower grades, reduced understanding of key concepts, and ultimately, fewer qualifications. National research consistently shows that lower attendance correlates with lower academic achievement.
School Routine: Regular attendance helps maintain a stable routine, which is crucial for effective learning. Absences can disrupt this routine, not only for the child who is absent but also for their classmates. Teachers may need to spend additional time helping absent students catch up, which can slow down the overall progress of the class. Missing key lessons or coursework can also make it difficult for students to keep up with new material.
Risk of Anti-Social Behaviour: School provides a structured environment that keeps children engaged in productive activities. When children miss school, they may be more likely to engage in unsupervised activities, which can increase the risk of involvement in anti-social behaviour. Regular school attendance helps reduce these risks by keeping children focused on positive goals and behaviours.
General Well-Being and Life Opportunities: School is not just about academics; it also offers social interactions, extracurricular activities, and experiences that contribute to a child's overall well-being. Missing out on these opportunities can negatively affect a child’s social development, self-esteem, and long-term life prospects. Consistent attendance supports the development of important life skills, such as time management, responsibility, and perseverance, which are essential for success in adulthood.

In summary, regular school attendance is crucial for your child’s academic achievement, personal development, and future opportunities. Ensuring that your child attends school consistently will help them make the most of their education and set them up for long-term success.

What is acceptable attendance?

The School expects all pupils to aim for 100% attendance.
98% attendance is regarded as good and should be achieved with an average amount of illness.
Any attendance level that creates a cause for concern would initiate intervention by the school. This could be as simple as a ‘chat’ with the form teacher or may, in more severe circumstances, lead to the involvement of agencies outside of the school.

The school takes several steps to promote excellent attendance:

Rewards: The school celebrates excellent pupil attendance on a weekly and termly basis during assemblies. This recognition motivates students to maintain good attendance.
Group Work: The school organizes group work sessions that can address attendance-related issues. These groups may focus on improving punctuality, addressing attendance challenges, or highlighting the connection between regular attendance and future academic success.
Counselling: The school provides access to counselling services for students who may need additional support. Referrals can be made to the Venus Centre, which offers specialised services to help students. The Venus Centre can be contacted at 0151 474 4744 or through their website at venuscharity.org.

The school records student absences using an electronic attendance registration system. Here’s how it works:

Electronic Attendance System: Attendance is recorded electronically and updated during each lesson by the form teacher or subject teacher.
Presence or Absence: The system logs whether a student is present or absent for each lesson.
Categorization of Absences: Absences are categorized as either authorised or unauthorised:

Authorised Absence: These are absences that the school agrees and accepts as appropriate, such as genuine illness or medical appointments.
Unauthorised Absence: These include absences like truancy, parentally condoned absence without a valid reason, and unauthorised holidays taken during term time.

Standard Codes: The school uses standard government-issued codes to categorise and record the reasons for absence.

If Your Child is Ill:

Evaluate if They Should Attend: Determine whether your child is too ill to attend. Many students who feel slightly unwell attend school and often feel better as the day progresses.
Reporting Absence: If your child is too ill to attend, call the school on the first day and each subsequent day of illness on 01519312971.
Provide a Written Explanation: When your child returns to school, they should bring a letter explaining the reason for their absence.

What Happens if Your Child is Absent:

First Day of Absence: Parents must contact the school on the first day of absence. If you don’t, the school will make a truancy call. Failing to respond will result in the absence being marked as unauthorised.
Frequent Absences: If absences become frequent, expect a letter from the school informing you of your child’s attendance level.
Unacceptable Absences: If absences are unacceptable or attendance is very low, you may be asked to attend a meeting to discuss support. Continued poor attendance may lead to referral to the Local Authority Attendance Officer.

Unacceptable reasons for absence include

Shopping
Holidays in term time which are not authorised by your child's school (see below)
Hair cut
Truancy
Airport visits
Birthday treats
Days out / trips
Looking after brothers and sisters at home
Non-urgent medical or dental appointments
Oversleeping
Working

Sacred Heart School Attendance Plan

Pupil Leave of Absence Request Form

Term-Time Holidays:

General Rule: Term-time holidays and extended leave are generally not allowed, and parents are discouraged from arranging them.
Requesting Leave: In special circumstances, a leave of absence may be granted. Requests must be made in writing at least 6 weeks before the planned leave.
Unauthorised Leave: If the request is denied and the holiday is still taken, it will be recorded as unauthorised, which could result in an Education Penalty Notice fine.

Unacceptable Level of Unauthorised Absence:

Contact by School: The school will contact you to discuss the reasons for your child’s absence if it becomes unacceptable.
Action Plan: A plan of action will be developed to improve attendance.
Failure to Improve: Continued non-compliance may lead to a referral to the Education Welfare Service and potential legal action.
Please note that the decision to authorise absences rests with schools and not parents.

Legal action to enforce school attendance

Local councils and schools can use various legal powers if your child is missing school without a good reason. They can give you:

a Parenting Order
an Education Supervision Order
a School Attendance Order
a fine (sometimes known as a ‘penalty notice’)

Parenting Order

This means you have to go to parenting classes. You’ll also have to do what the court says to improve your child’s school attendance.

Education Supervision Order

If the council thinks you need support getting your child to go to school but you’re not co-operating, they can apply to a court for an Education Supervision Order.

A supervisor will be appointed to help you get your child into education. The local council can do this instead of prosecuting you, or as well.

School Attendance Order

You’ll get a School Attendance Order if the local council thinks your child is not getting an education.

You have 15 days to provide evidence that you’ve registered your child with the school listed in the order or that you’re giving them home education. If you do not, you could be prosecuted or given a fine.

Fine

Your local council can give each parent a fine of £80, rising to £160 if you do not pay within 21 days.

From the 2024 to 2025 school year, each parent will only get up to 2 fines for the same child in a 3-year period.

If you get a second fine in 3 years it will be £160. If you do not pay the fine in 28 days you may be taken to court for keeping your child out of school.

If your child is off school 3 or more times within the 3 years you will not be fined but may be taken to court.

If you’re taken to court

You could get a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence up to 3 months. The court could also give you a Parenting Order.

Additional Information and Support:

Resources: You can find further information and assistance through various local and national services listed in the school’s resources, including the Local Authority Education Welfare Service and other family support services.
Attendance Support: Please contact your child’s Pastoral Head of Year

Attendance and Illness Guidelines

We understand that students occasionally need to take time off from school due to illness. However, we ask that parents/carers avoid keeping their child home for minor ailments. As a general rule, if your child is unwell enough to need a doctor, they should stay home.

Please remember to always call the school to report the absence and follow up with a written note explaining the reason for the absence. In cases of low attendance, or periods of absences of 3 or more we may also request medical evidence.

The guide below may assist you in deciding whether or not your child needs to stay home from school.