Promoting Excellent Attendance

We are delighted to have been recognised by FFT for our excellent attendance in the Autumn Term of 2023/2024

Attendance is strongly linked to academic achievement.  Consequently, parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that children attend regularly and punctually, and that holidays in term time are avoided.

If your child is unwell

If your child is unwell, please contact the school by 9.00am at the latest by emailing our attendance officer via attendance@woolmerhill.surrey.sch.uk 

When you are notifiying us of an absence please clearly state your child's name and tutor group, the reason for the absence and the expected return to school date.

If we do not hear from you, our automated ‘truancy call’ system will send you a message stating that your child is not in school and requesting that you contact us. If a child misses school for any reason, please ensure that a note is supplied to their tutor or the Attendance Officer on the first day of their return.

Rewarding good attendance

Good attendance is a regular focus of our rewards system throughout the year.  Students receive merits for attaining 100% attendance over specified periods of time.  In addition, postcards are sent home for excellent attendance and recognition is given in ½ termly achievement assemblies.

Addressing attendance concerns

The school has a legal duty to monitor attendance and we will contact you if we feel it is a concern. 

If a child’s attendance is below 90% they are considered to be a persistent absentee. This can have legal implications and trigger intervention from the Surrey Attendance Service and fixed penalty fines and/or prosecution.

Irregular attendance and unauthorised absence may result in the school having to make a referral to the Surrey Attendance Service which may trigger the issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice. Read more about FPNs by clicking here.

Punctuality

Students are expected to be punctual to morning registration, which starts at 8.40am promptly, therefore we expect students to arrive on school site by 08:35am.

Students who arrive after the end of tutor time should report directly to the Engagement Office to sign in and the time of their arrival will be recorded. Break and lunchtime detentions are issued for students who are either late or miss a registration unless there is a valid reason which parents have communicated to us.  Parents can use the student planner to communicate such information to the tutor. Students are also expected to arrive at lessons on time. 

Please see the link below for our Attendance and Punctuality Leaflet for Parents. This booklet contains key information about attendance and key contact details.

How to promote excellent attendance to ensure that your child makes every minute of every lesson count, every single day

Attending school has a huge impact on your child’s academic success starting from reception all the way through to Year 11. Families play a vital role in making sure that their children get to school safely, regularly and on time. Here are some useful tips to help you.

Always make school a priority

• Never make routine doctor, dentist or optician appointments during school time unless this is absolutely necessary - make this after school or during holidays
• If you do need to make an urgent appointment in school time try to ensure that your child misses as little of school as possible, and ensure they attend school before and/or after the appointment
• We know that travel companies don’t make it easy for families, but never book a holiday during term time (it won't be authorised, your child will fall behind and you may be fined)
• Don’t allow your child to stay off school to make things easier for yourself – this is against the law
• Don’t allow your child to miss school on Mondays and Fridays if you are going away for the weekend
• Don’t allow your child to take a day off because of the weather
• Don’t allow your child to take a day off for their birthday – this is completely unacceptable 

Help your child to stay on track

• Find out if your child is coping with their work and if they are up to date – missing school will make them fall behind
• Check your child’s attendance with school, you might not realise how much school they have missed, you can also check your child's attendance on Arbor
• Encourage your child to stay after school to attend home learning clubs, booster sessions and extra lessons whenever they are offered
• If your child forgets their home learning, PE kit, Chromebook or pencil case, or if they not in correct uniform, it will cause problems for them at school – please help your child become organised at home and help them prepare their school bag the night before