If your child is not able to attend school then you should contact the Attendance Officer by calling the school directly or report the absence by using our link to Studybugs. If they are not in school for a medical reason then medical evidence must always be produced.
The school's policy for attendance and punctuality creates effective systems and procedures for encouraging regular school attendance, investigating and resolving the underlying causes of poor attendance and for the early identification of persistently absent students and the prevention of their absence. Click here for a link to our policy.
The effective implementation of behaviour and attendance policies, together with the more general work of the school in ensuring that every student has the best possible learning experience, should ensure that student attendance is high. It is proven by numerous studies that regular attendance at school will help your child get the most from their education and that pupils who attend regularly are likely to develop both academically and socially, leave school with more qualifications, improve their life chances and have greater access to employment opportunities. For these reasons staff members monitor punctuality and attendance at St Andrew and take action when concerning attendance patterns emerge.
The attendance of each student is monitored weekly and it is rated as follows:
Green 96 – 100%
Yellow 90 – 95.9%
Red 90% and under
When a student’s attendance falls below target levels, we will take action using the following thresholds:
- below 95% attendance – letter sent home
- between 90 and 95% attendance – letter sent home and support meeting arranged at school
- below 90% attendance – letter sent home and support meeting (the school’s Education Welfare Office [EWO] may be involved and prosecution may be considered in non-medical instances)
- below 90% attendance – letter sent home and support meeting (alongside EWO and prosecution may be considered in non-medical instances)
Our Pastoral teams may also call home and arrange meetings to support parents and pre-empt any issues that may affect a child’s attendance.
The vast majority of students arrive on time for school and the atmosphere before school is a very pleasant part of the day. Nevertheless, a small number of parents are reminded that the school day starts with registration at 8.30am. Students should arrive on the school site before 8.25am and be ready to learn at 8.30am. Students are marked late to school if they arrive after this time and will serve an hour’s detention if they are late to school or lesson twice in a week. In the rare instances when a student arrives after 9.25am this will be marked as an unauthorised absence.
Our Attendance policy states that absence during term time will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. No holidays in term time will be authorised. Parents and carers wanting to request a term time absence should write directly to the Headteacher, explaining their circumstances.
To support and improve attendance St Andrew the Apostle will follow guidance in Barnet Council’s Code of Conduct and issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs). These FPNs will be issued will be issued for unauthorised holidays and absences which incur more than 10 sessions, equivalent to 5 school days. Furthermore, students who have unacceptable levels of absence may not be eligible to go on school trips.
If you need support with your child’s attendance, please contact the school on admin@standrewtheapostle.org.uk