Attendance

School Attendance – Working together will get the best results for your child

The Governors and staff of Slough and Eton are committed to providing a full and effective education and want all children to have a positive experience of school life and be able to reach their full potential. We believe that all students benefit from the education we provide and from regular and punctual school attendance.

Pupils with no absence are 1.5 times more likely to achieve 5 or more GCSEs and 2.8 times more likely to achieve 5 or more GCSEs at grade 4 or higher including English and Mathematics than students missing 15-20 per cent of lessons. 90% over 5 years at Secondary school equates to half a school year missed and the achievement at GCSE will be, on average, one grade lower. Therefore, overall absence has been shown to have a statistically significant negative link to attainment.

All students must be in school by 8.25am ready to start at 8.30am.  Poor punctuality will not be acceptable as we want all students to have a positive start to the day by being on time and ready to start their lessons, every minute matters.

Medical Absence  

We know that sometimes our students cannot come to school because they are unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other students.  Medical advice is clear however that children with mild illness will often be well enough to attend - for example if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature.  The NHS guidance https://frimley-healthiertogether.nhs.uk/   is designed to support parents in their decision-making about mild illness.

Appointments

Please try to make appointments for after school or during the school holidays to avoid unnecessary disruption to your child's learning.  However, if your child has an emergency medical/dental appointment during the school day, the Attendance Office must have prior knowledge of this by sending a message through Weduc or emailing, attendance@slougheton.com. 

Students from Years 7 to 11 must be collected by the parent/carer (or by a nominated contact) from the reception, as no student will be allowed to leave the school site unaccompanied.  Where possible, the appointment should also be written in your child's planner so that they can be released from their lesson with ease.                                           

A whole day's absence from school for an appointment cannot be taken unless in special circumstances. If your child has an appointment first thing in the morning - we would expect them to be in school afterwards, alternatively, if your child has an appointment in the afternoon - we would expect your child to be in school in the morning.  

What to do if your child is absent from school

If your child is absent from school, you must notify us through the ‘Parent App- Weduc’ (if you are having difficulty with the app, you can telephone the school’s absence line by 9.00am

01753 520824 - Option 1 for students in Yr7 to Yr11, Option 2 for Sixth Form or you can email attendance@slougheton.com). As part of safeguarding, you must contact the school every day that your child is absent and follow this up with a note or medical evidence once the child returns to school. The school’s Headteacher or the Attendance Officer will decide whether to authorise the absence, depending upon the reason given.

Please note when reporting your child's absence, 'not well' or 'sick' is not acceptable. We will need full details of the symptoms if the absence is to be considered.

Punctuality

If your child arrives to school after 8.30am they will be marked with a L=late or a U=unauthorised lateness (if arriving after 9.00am). You are required to contact the school if your child is running late as part of safeguarding. Persistent lateness will be followed up with a phone call, letter, possibly a meeting and if no improvement this could lead to a fine being issued.

Withdrawing your child from education during term time (request for leave) 

Under education law, parents do not have an automatic right to take their children out of school during term time. The school holiday dates are published a year in advance and parents are expected to arrange their family holidays during those times.

Requests for leave of absence for family holidays, in line with government guidelines, will normally not be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances. Leave of absence should be requested at least two weeks in advance where possible. The ‘Withdrawal from Education’ form can be collected from the Attendance Office/Reception. Supporting documentation must be provided with the completed form.  The parent will be advised of the school’s decision in writing. If the leave of absence request is denied and the student is absent during the requested period, the parent may be liable to receive a fixed penalty notice from the Local Authority. Penalty notices are issued on a ‘per parent per student’ basis.  More details can be found here.

Target

As a reminder, our end-of-year target is for every student to reach a minimum of 96% percentage attendance.  This target is based on recommendations set by the Local Authority and is based on national figures.

The table below shows the impact an absence has on missed lessons and the gaps in education.

For every day your child is absent from school, over 6 hours of instructional time is lost.

For further information, please refer to our Attendance Procedures Policy.