Attendance

At The Cherwell School we want our students to be in school learning and striving for success. We understand that barriers to attendance are complex, and that some pupils find it harder than others to attend school; therefore, we will continue to prioritise cultivating a safe and supportive environment at school, as well as strong and trusting relationships with pupils and parents. 

We recognise that some students may face significant, complex, or ongoing barriers to school attendance due to additional needs, disabilities, or health conditions. Under the Equality Act 2010, we are fully committed to making reasonable adjustments and ensuring that every child is treated as an individual. We know that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work when overcoming obstacles to attending school. Therefore, we will always aim to work proactively and in close partnership with parents, carers, and external specialists to understand each student’s unique circumstances, listen to their voice, and co-create bespoke support plans that enable them to engage fully and safely in their education.

If a student’s attendance falls below 95% this is considered a cause for concern and alerted to the relevant staff members within the school. If your child’s attendance continues to drop below 90% it is then that your child is considered to be persistently absent. Whilst some absence from school is unavoidable, it is important that all students try to achieve to be in school every day. 

Department for Education statistics show that of pupils who missed between 10% and 20% of school, only 35% manage to go on to achieve five good GCSEs. This compares with 73% of pupils with over 95% attendance. Furthermore, attendance records are included with a reference written by the school and therefore poor attendance can have further damaging long term consequences.

We target a minimum attendance of 97% for all pupils as research has shown that if a student falls below this attendance threshold it significantly increases the likelihood of academic underachievement.

Attendance starts at home

Ensuring parents fulfil their statutory obligation and support in your child getting high attendance by encouraging and enforcing punctuality both for morning arrival and lesson attendance.

• Ensure your child attends school every day, on time, with the correct equipment and ready to learn
• Ensure the school has the most up to date home addresses and contact numbers. The year teams will contact you if your child is absent and you have not informed the school. 

Reporting an absence

Parents and carers will be required to contact the school before 8.30am by calling 01865 558719 or contact your child's year teams with the details below. Please give a reason for the absence and inform the team of any appointments that will be during the school day. Please be aware that any unexplained absences are recorded as unauthorised and will appear on student school reports.

DYL 7 - Beth Ashton - bashton@cherwellschool.org 

DYL 8 - Coralie Goble - cgoble@cherwellschool.org 

DYL 9 - Janet Kidd - jkidd@cherwellschool.org

DYL 10 - Jo Devine - jdevine@cherwellschool.org 

DYL 11 - Amanda Blake - ablake@cherwellschool.org 

DYL 12 - Charlotte Evans - cevans@cherwellschool.org 

DYL 13 -  Katy McQueen - kmcqueen@cherwellschool.org 

Where a pupil is absent, and their parent or carer has not contacted the school by the close of the morning register to report the absence, the deputy year leader will make contact with home using the details provided on Bromcom.

The school will always follow up any absences in order to: 

• Ascertain the reason for the absence
• Ensure the proper safeguarding action is being taken
• Identify whether the absence is authorised or not
• Identify the correct code to use to enter the data onto the school census system.

The school reserves the right to request supporting evidence where there is genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness. We may also request medical information as part of a support plan to identify barriers for attending school with a view to seeking additional resources to support the pupil.

How do we manage attendance?

We monitor students closely whose attendance is falling and will contact you if your child’s attendance does not improve. It is an offence for your child to not attend school regularly and punctually so it is very important that parents and carers monitor days of absence as these days can soon add up to weeks. 

Attendance Lead

We are pleased to be working with Kerry Green, Education Welfare Officer at Momenta Connect. Kerry will work alongside the school and families to support good attendance, help overcome barriers to school attendance, and provide guidance where additional support is required.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding Attendance & Absence please do not hesitate to contact Kerry on 01865 558719, by email: Kerry.Green@momentaconnect.co.uk or alternatively she will be happy to arrange a meeting. Additionally, she will contact you should there be any attendance or punctuality concerns regarding your child.

Thank you for your support.

Mr Pete Davies
SLT Attendance Lead

Request for Leave Of Absence

The school will only grant a pupil a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. Parents and carers are advised to avoid long-term absences and family holidays during term time, as this has been proven to affect pupil progress, and the school is not likely to grant leaves of absence for the purposes of family holidays.

To have requests for a leave of absence considered, parents must contact the headteacher in writing at least two weeks prior to the proposed start date, using the Application for Leave of Absence Form available on the school website. The request must state the reason for the absence and the exact dates involved. No retrospective permission will be granted. Any requests will be considered on an individual basis, taking the pupil’s previous attendance record into account, and the headteacher will determine the length of time granted.

Where possible, parents and carers must endeavour to arrange medical and dental appointments outside of the school day, except in cases of urgency. While the school understands that hospital and orthodontist appointments are often dictated by the clinic, students should not be kept out of school for a whole day unless absolutely necessary. Mid-morning or after-lunch appointments are preferable so students can attend school before and return after the appointment. If an appointment is unavoidable during school time, parents must notify the school as early as possible and always in advance.

Attendance and Punctuality - What to do if...

Application for leave of absence

Attendance Policy

NHS - Should I Keep My Child Off School