Dear families,
Firstly, I would like to remind you of our arrangements for the end of the summer term and start of the autumn term. Students will break up for the summer holiday at 3.05pm on Tuesday 18th July and the new academic year will start at 8.35am on Tuesday 5th September for years 7, 11 and 12 and at 8.35am on Wednesday 6th September for year 8, 9, 10 and 13.
We know that families play a vital role in the academic success of our students. The first step to academic achievement is establishing excellent school attendance habits. Student attendance is critical to student achievement at all grade levels.
In order to achieve this, I ask you to support us by trying to arrange medical and dental appointments for outside of school hours and therefore keeping medical appointments in school time to an absolute minimum. If on the rare occasion a medical appointment during school time is unavoidable, then I ask that your child attends school beforehand and returns to school immediately that same day following their appointment. The school day is split into two sessions; if a student is absent from school first thing in the morning or immediately after lunch then they cannot receive an attendance mark for that session.
As a school we expect all of our students’ attendance to be at least 96% which means no more than 8 days off per school year.
The importance of good attendance cannot be underestimated, and there are some shocking facts regarding absence from school:
– One week off school = 14 missed lessons
– One day off school per month = approximately 50 missed lessons per year
– 90% attendance for a year = approximately 4 weeks off school or 60 lessons missed
– 90% attendance for 5 years = half a year off school or over 350 lessons missed
We are focusing our academy efforts to improve student attendance because we want all of our students to succeed and achieve the best grades possible at the end of their secondary school journey. Our team at the academy will promote daily attendance through incentives, rewards, family education and support, and community partnerships. We will be tracking and sharing attendance information with our school community throughout the school year.
It is important that your child is present at school every day and on time. In order to support with positive attendance habits you can:
– Create morning and evening routines
– Schedule all appointments for your child during non-school hours
– Post term dates in a visual place
– Plan family holidays or trips on non-school days only
– Help your child develop a positive attitude towards school by encouraging them to participate in enrichment activities
– Communicate with the academy on a regular basis if you need support
I would like to thank you for your support in helping us to maximise attendance and in doing so, enhancing student success through positive progress and outcomes.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs L. Clarke
Vice Principal