Attendance & Punctuality

Research demonstrates that frequent absences often lead to poor academic performance. Missed days mean missed learning.

Attending school consistently helps students to stay engaged in their learning, participate fully in the opportunities available to them, and build meaningful relationships.

 

Why are attendance and punctuality so important?

Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind in their studies.  St John’s seeks to ensure that all students receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each student to become the best version of themselves, fulfilling their potential and realising their dreams.  

Over a period of five school years, a student with 90% attendance will have missed half of a whole year of schooling. Similarly, students with poor punctuality miss valuable lesson time and, if it happens regularly, progress will be jeopardised, resulting in lower grades.  

While occasional absences may happen, we want to emphasise that students should attend college even if they have a common cold - staying home is only recommended if they have a high fever or contagious illness. It is our expectation that all students make every effort to be present every day and always on time for school, lessons and learning. 

Definitions of attendance

The table below sets out our definitions of attendance.  We expect outstanding attendance for all; however, we do recognise that there are times when students we will absent from school.  If attendance drops we will contact parents/carers immediately to put a plan in place to make sure improvements can be made.  As a school we work relentlessly to support students and their families.

 

Punctuality matters

 

 

What can we do to improve attendance and punctuality?

 

As a parent/carer you can help by:	ensuring your child understands the importance of excellent attendance and punctuality taking an interest in their education – asking about school work and encourage them to get involved in school activities discussing any problems they may have at school and pass on any concerns to their pastoral tutor not allowing them to take time off school for minor ailments arranging appointments after school hours, at weekends or during school holidays will help to prevent disruption to your child’s education and to the school being open and willing to work with us to improve your child’s attendance arrange non-urgent medical and dental appointments outside of school hours arranging family holidays and trips during holiday periods and not during term time
As a student you can improve your attendance by:	speaking to a trusted adult about the reasons why you might not want to come to school getting an early night so that you are well-rested for school the following day; feeling tired on a morning can make getting to school harder make sure you get to school on time, every day not making excuses to stay off school
As a school we can help by:	Rigorous daily monitoring of attendance and punctuality Offering support and encouragement, helping to remove barriers to learning Working in partnership with families to look  at ways to re-engage their children with learning Putting plans in place with SMART targets to build students’ resilience and responsibility