The Importance of Good Attendance 

Attending school regularly and being on time are key to a student’s success both in school and later in life. These habits help prepare students for the workplace while also building social skills, friendships, and good communication. 

Regular attendance also shows commitment and responsibility, which are important qualities in all areas of life. Students who attend school regularly have more chances to learn, understand their lessons, and achieve better grades, boosting their confidence. Missing school can make it harder to keep up, affecting progress and causing unnecessary stress.

Working Together

Parents and carers are responsible for making sure their children attend school regularly and on time. Southlands School understands that some pupils may need extra support to maintain good attendance. Parents and carers should let the school know about any difficulties or changes at home that could affect their child’s attendance or behaviour, such as bereavement, divorce, or domestic issues. This helps the school provide the right support.

School must report poor attendance to the Local Authority, which has a legal duty to ensure parents and carers meet their responsibilities.

Parents and carers should also keep the school updated with any changes to contact details, including addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Reminder for Parents – Leave of Absence During Term Time

Current attendance rules state that the Head Teacher can only approve a leave of absence during term time in exceptional circumstances.

Each request will be considered individually. The Head Teacher will decide what counts as "exceptional" and whether the leave should be approved. If approved, they will also decide how many days a child can miss.

Only the resident parent can request a leave of absence. If a request is made in advance and refused, the child must attend school on the specified dates. If the child is absent during this time, it will be marked as unauthorised absence.

Punctuality

A student regularly arriving late for school will lose valuable learning time. For example:

• 10 minutes late each day = 32 lessons missed = over 6 days of school
• 20 minutes late each day = 64 lessons missed = over 2 weeks of school

Students should arrive at school by 8:45 am to attend registration and be ready to start learning at 9:00 am.

Understanding Attendance Percentages

To have excellent attendance, students need to be in school at least 96% of the time. Here are some examples to show how absences can add up over a school year of 190 days:

• Missing 10 days = 95% attendance = 50 lessons missed.
• Missing 20 days = 89% attendance = 100 lessons missed.
• Missing 29 days = 85% attendance = 145 lessons missed.
• Missing 38 days = 80% attendance = 190 lessons missed.
• Missing 47 days = 75% attendance = 235 lessons missed.

Important Website Links

School Attendance North Tyneside Click Here
Government Attendance and Absence Click Here