Attendance & Absence

Attendance Matters

Should your child be absent from school or need to leave early/arrive late due to an appointment, please inform us on the following email: studentabsence@kingsdownschool.co.uk

Students arriving late or leaving early without any parent communication will be asked to wait until phone confirmation of the appointment has been received.

At Kingsdown School we want our students to be in school learning and striving for success. Research has shown that high attendance and good punctuality are crucial factors in students achieving their full potential in education. For this reason, we reward and celebrate students who achieve 100% attendance and whose attendance is improving each half term.

If a student’s attendance falls below 95% this is considered a cause for concern - and if your child’s attendance is below 90% your child is considered to be persistently absent. Whilst some absence from school is unavoidable, it is vital that all students strive to be in school every day. Parental support in achieving this is absolutely crucial.

Department for Education statistics show that of pupils who missed between 10% and 20% of school, only 35% manage to go on to achieve five good GCSEs. This compares with 73% of pupils with over 95% attendance. Furthermore, attendance records are included with a reference written by the school and therefore poor attendance can have further damaging long term consequences.

The target attendance figure for all students is a minimum of 96% attendance.

Attendance and progress of students at the end of year 11 are strongly linked. Below is a graph that shows for the cohort of students who left in 2019, how their attendance in year 11 linked to their overall progress. A progress 8 score of 0 would mean that a student is making the same level of progress as students nationally who achieved the same results at the end of key stage 2.

How do we manage attendance?

Your child will be informed of their current attendance every 2 weeks. They will record it in their planner. We are monitoring students closely whose attendance is falling and will contact you if your child’s attendance does not improve. As a parent/carer you are committing an offence if you fail to ensure that your child attends school regularly and punctually, even if they are missing school without your knowledge. It is important that parents/carers monitor single days of absence, as these days soon add up to weeks. Attendance is rewarded each week with achievement points and prize draws in assembly.

What we are asking you to do?

As a parent, there are important steps that we would ask you to take to support us in this focus on high levels of attendance:
• Ensure your child attends every day, on time, equipped and ready to learn. Roll Call is at 8.15am and students should be on site by 8.10am. The front gates will be closed at 8.15am. Students are considered late if the arrive after 8.15am and will be registered by a member of our pastoral team as being late.
• Ensure the school has up to date addresses and telephone numbers. We will contact you if your child is absent and you have not contacted the school. This ensures that any absence is quickly identified.

If your child is ill, please contact the school on each day of absence and provide an explanatory note on their return to school.

If no contact is received regarding the absence, it is recorded as unauthorised. Ultimately the school is responsible for deciding if the absence is acceptable or not. Only genuine absence will be authorised. You will be asked to provide medical certificates if your child has a poor attendance record.

Please ensure that dental and medical appointments are made outside of school time.

Avoid trivial absences such as, ‘buying new shoes’. This would not be accepted as a reasonable absence.

Respond to letters or telephone calls regarding attendance and punctuality.

Attendance Officer

With your continued support, we aim to raise the attendance of every student and in doing so, also raise their academic achievement.
If you have any concerns or questions regarding Attendance & Absence please do not hesitate to contact me.

I am available from 8.30am - 3.00pm every day and you are welcome to contact me on 01793 822284, via email: studentabsence@kingsdownschool.co.uk or by arranging an appointment at a mutually convenient time within the school day.

Additionally, I will contact you should we have any attendance or punctuality concerns regarding your child.

Finally, a reminder that all students are expected to attend school every day and on time, unless they are unwell, in which case medical evidence may be requested.

Thank you for your support.

Mrs F Williams
Attendance Officer

Mrs K Agambar
SLT Attendance Lead

Reporting an absence

• Telephone the school as soon as possible on 01793 822284
• Email studentabsence@kingsdownschool.co.uk to share the reason for an absence or to inform us of an appointment in school time
• Be aware that any unexplained absences are recorded as unauthorised and will appear on school reports

Medical Evidence may be requested for 5 or more consecutive school days absence due to illness (3 days if prior to or after a school holiday).

It is essential that the Attendance Officer is notified every day that a student is off sick. This is not only keeps your child’s Attendance records accurate but also ensures their safety. If you were to send your child back to school and we assume they are still absent due to illness an incident could occur, on the way to school, that neither parties are aware of.

Request for Leave Of Absence

(for Family Holiday/Non School Activity i.e. sporting fixtures/performing arts etc.)
If in doubt please contact the Student Absence Team [studentabsence@kingsdownschool.co.uk}.