Attendance
> Reporting Absence
> New incoming attendance information
> How can I support sustained attendance to school?
> Punctuality
> Term Time Holiday
> Fixed Penalty Notices
> Attendance Rewards
Attendance is our highest priority this year and was highlighted as an area that needs attention after our recent ofsted visit. I am calling on all parents to contribute to a whole-school improvement this year and aim for their child or children to all have 95%+ attendance.
Regular school attendance is essential for your child’s academic progress, confidence, and overall well-being. Attending school consistently ensures students stay on track with their daily lessons, benefit from hands-on instruction, and maintain strong connections with their teachers and peers. Most importantly, regular attendance is directly linked to positive exam outcomes; missing even a few days can create learning gaps that make test preparation unnecessarily stressful. By prioritizing daily attendance and helping your child build reliable routines, you are directly supporting their academic potential and setting them up for long-term success. Every lesson counts.
You can find the Student Attendance Policy here https://longhill.org.uk/about-us/policies/ but I outline below some of the key points that you might find useful including information on how to maintain positive school attendance and what happens should attendance drop below 95%.
Reporting Absence
Ms Reid is our Attendance Administrator and will be the first point of contact when reporting student absence.
You can do this via:
Email: attendance@longhill.org.uk
Edulink: via absence reporting tab
Phone: 01273 304696
Contact the school by 8.15am on each day of absence stating clearly the reasons for absence. Please do not contact any other member of staff directly as they may not pick this up.
Parents and carers are also responsible for informing the school of an advanced or planned appointment that cannot be taken outside the school day. If this is for medical reasons, we will ask for medical evidence in order to mark it accordingly and proof of appointment is normally acceptable.
Refrain from requesting any authorised absence except under exceptional circumstances.
The traffic light guidance below may help you decide if your child is well enough to come into school. Please also see NHS guidance here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
If your child has a medical condition that could impact school attendance, please let us know. There may be support that we can offer.
New incoming attendance information
You will soon begin receiving more regular communication about your child’s or children’s attendance via our school attendance monitoring system ‘Attend’ that will focus not only on those who need to improve attendance but also in recognising those with good or improving attendance. You will receive communication such as:
- How many days away your child is from reaching an attendance milestone
- When they reach 100% attendance for a half term
- When they drop below attendance benchmarks and the actions to take
Please look out for emails that look like the below:
How can I support sustained attendance to school?
- Please send your young people into school even if they have coughs and colds. We still receive some notifications giving this as a reason for absence.
- Please book non-emergency medical appointments outside of school time.
- Where appointments during school time are unavoidable, please send your young people in either before or after their appointment. An AM or PM mark is still 50% attendance for the day which is so much better than 0%.
- If something is happening at school that is causing anxiety about school attendance, please make contact with their tutor or head of year so that we can work together to resolve it. It is usually something that is easily fixed.
Punctuality
Late to School:
Students will receive a 15 minute same-day lunchtime detention if they are late during tutor time.
Students will receive a 30 minute same-day after school detention if they arrive at school after tutor time.
If there is a genuine reason for lateness, please contact any of the below so that we do not issue the detention:
Email: attendance@longhill.org.uk
Edulink: via absence reporting tab
Phone: 01273 304696
Late to Lesson:
Students need to arrive at lesson within 5 minutes of the lesson starting otherwise they will be issued with a 15 minute lunchtime detention. After break times, students need to be in their lesson by the second bell otherwise they will also receive a 15 minute lunchtime detention.
If students have been receiving support elsewhere, they need to request a note from the member of staff they have been with.
If they have just arrived at school after a medical appointment, they need to sign in through reception and hand the automatically generated slip to their teacher.
Term Time Holidays
We are excited to announce that we’ll once again be finishing the summer term early, with our last day set for Friday 16th July. Because standard schools in England and Wales don’t break up until between 21st and 23rd July, you can take advantage of that extra week to book summer holidays before peak travel rates kick in!
The DfE statutory guidance states that “Generally, the DfE does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance.” It also states that “a school cannot grant leave of absence retrospectively.”
The fundamental principles for defining ‘exceptional’ are where requests are rare, significant, unavoidable and short.
If you require a term-term holiday to be authorised under exceptional circumstances please request an ‘Absence During Term Time Request Form’ from your child’s Head of Year.
Fixed Penalty Notices
FPN’s can be issued for persistent absence, persistent lateness and term-time holidays.
The amount of money that a parent/carer is fined is now £160 per student, per parent. If this is paid within 21 days, this is reduced to £80.
If a second fine is issued within a 3 year period, it is a flat £160 per student, per parent with no opportunity for it to be reduced.
We are not allowed to fine more than twice in a 3 year period. The third instance will trigger alternative action which could include prosecution.
Attendance Rewards
We recognise that many students have fantastic attendance and show resilience in coming to school when they are unwell. For this reason we have a comprehensive rewards system that covers those students who are always here and those who improve.
Weekly 100% attendance draw: If you had 100% attendance in the previous week you could be randomly selected for a £5 Amazon Voucher. (1 for KS3 and 1 for KS4)
Half-Termly Attendance Certificates: For all those students with 100% attendance for the half term.
Half-Termly Attendance Voucher: These students also receive a £5 Amazon Voucher
Termly Top 10 Most Improved attendance: £5 Amazon Voucher for those top 10 most improved students
Termly 100% Attendance Draw: £80 Sports Direct voucher for one student in KS3 and another in KS4 randomly selected from those with 100% attendance for that term.
Additional attendance rewards
- Two week Christmas challenge: Attend for all 10 days before Christmas to receive some seasonal treats!
- Easter Egg hunt: Attend in the last week of term to receive treats on two random days of the week during tutor time.
- Ice Pole Challenge: Attend for all 10 days before we break up for summer to get an ice pole on the last day.