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Attendance

Good attendance is a major factor in a student’s success at school. Regular attendance and punctuality are crucial to children reaching their full potential. As a school we are totally committed to providing children with the very best in education and we encourage all of our students to aim as high as they can.   However, we appreciate that occasionally students will be absent from school with good reason.

For your information the school regards attendance levels as follows:

98% - 100%

Excellent

96% - 97.9%

Good

94% - 95.9%

Average/cause for concern

91% - 93.9%

Low

90% or below

Persistently absent

Reporting absence

Should your child be absent for any other reason please email our absence line on studentabsence@johnwarner.herts.sch.uk before 8.15am stating your child’s name, form and the reason.

Alternatively you should telephone the school on 01992 449605 before 8.15am and leave a clear message stating your child’s name, form and the reason for absence.

Parents must call before 8.15am everyday that your child is absent.

Should a child not be present in school and no reason has been provided, we will attempt to contact you via email/phonecall/text. This absence will be unauthorised until we receive a sufficient explanation from you.

Lateness

Students who are late to school should sign in at reception and record the reason for their lateness. Parents/carers should inform the school if your child is going to be late and the reason.

Persistent lateness will be monitored and followed up with individual families.

Medical Appointments

Many medical appointments are able to be made outside of school hours. If not, please aim for early morning or late afternoon appointments to keep time out of school to a minimum. You should advise us of any medical appointment via our jotform on the website.

Authorised Absence

  • Illness
  • Family bereavement
  • Emergency medical appointments
  • Religious day
  • Interview for school/college, employment

Unauthorised Absence

  • Day trips
  • Shopping
  • Holidays
  • Birthdays
  • Visits to relatives
  • Looking after siblings
  • Working with family

Holidays

Absence during term – time plays a significant part in under- achievement

There is no automatic right for parents to take their child out of school for holidays during term time. If you feel that there are extenuating circumstances why this may be necessary you will need to get permission for the school. If the absence is granted it will be recorded as authorised. However the government generally views all absence for holidays as Unauthorised.

Absence concerns

Should you have any queries about your child’s attendance, please contact either their form tutor, head of year or the attendance officer and they will assist you. Attendance is closely monitored and should the school have any concerns we will contact you to discuss these in more detail.

Support

We have many resources to support students who are having difficulty in attending school. Our pastoral team are very experienced and will work with you to identify any issues that your child may be experiencing, signpost to supporting organisations or refer you to specialist services.    

Potential outcomes for persistent absence

If your child is persistently absent from school (either authorised or unauthorised) it will ultimately have a negative impact on their future success. We will happily work with you to improve attendance using any/all of the following methods, however ultimately it is a parents legal obligation to ensure their child attends school regularly.

  • Regular meetings
  • Pupil attendance contract
  • Home visits
  • Referral to Local Authority attendance team
  • Fixed penalty notice
  • Legal proceedings (please see separate information sheet)

Who deals with attendance?

Who deals with attendance?

Mrs Mitchell

Mrs Mitchell is our attendance officer and deals with the daily attendance and registers. Mrs Mitchell will take the answerphone messages and emails and transfer the information onto your child's school register. Mrs Mitchell will also contact home if a child has not reported for morning or afternoon registration and we have not been given a reason. Mrs Mitchell monitors all absence and will report any concerns to the Pastoral Team.   

Head of Year/Head of School and/or Form Tutor

Your child's Head of Year, Head of School and/or Form Tutor may contact you at any time in relation to attendance expectations. 

Mr Cove (Acting Assistant Headteacher)

Has overall responsibility for school attendance and regularly holds staff meetings with the Pastoral Team.