Raise Your Chances! Get your attendance

right!What does “Good

Attendance” mean?

“When a child is registered at a particular school, the law requires them to attend all 380 half-day sessions in a school year. (except for EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES)”

Department for Education

So, allowing for EXCEPTIONAL

CIRCUMSTANCES …

All students in an English school should have at least 95% attendance

= 19 half day absences a year

Up until September, 2015, a student in an English school had a label of ‘persistent absentee’ if their attendance fell below

85%

CHANGE TO THE LAW

Since September, 2015, students are now ‘persistent absentees’ if their

attendance falls below 90%.

What happens if a student becomes a ‘persistent

absentee’?

Possibility of parents being fined, or even sent to prison, if their child’s attendance doesn’t

improve.

Involvement of an Education Welfare Officer.

Regular school meetings with student and parents.

Close monitoring of the reasons for absence.

Why has the Government changed

the %?

Why is the Government saying that 90%

attendance is now a cause for concern, rather than

85%?

This is Dixie. She is in Year 10 and has 90% attendance.

Some people might think

this sounds OK.

HOWEVER …..

90% attendance = ½ day missed every week!!

When you start work, your boss won’t allow

you to be off this much.

Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri

?

Absent half a day every week

Looking a little closer…..

1 school year at 90% attendance = 4 whole weeks of lessons MISSED!!!

38 school weeks

Sept July

?

Absent for 4 weeks

90% attendance over 5 years of secondary school….

= ½ a school year missed!Sept July

Y7

Y8

Y9 ½ a year absent from

schoolY10

Y11

What impact might this have on Dixie’s life……?

Research suggests that 17 missed school days a year = a GCSE

grade DROP in achievement. (DfES)

The greater the attendance the greater the achievement.

Secondary School Key Stage 4 Performance by Average Absence Sessions

0

20

40

60

80

100

7.5 days

7.5 to 10 days

10 to 12.5 days

12.5 to 15 days

15 to 17.5 days

17.5 to 20 days

20+ days

Average No. of Sessions Absence per student

% 5 or more grades A-C

% achieving any qualification

%

ach

ievin

g

“Students with no absence from school were nearly 3 times more likely to get 5 A*-C grades at GCSE.

Even a low number of absences can affect grades - the students with the best grades tended to be those who didn't ever miss school.”

Daily Mirror – February 2015

School Attendance aff ects results.

The results achieved through attending school aff ects

future lifestyles.

What could your potential average

earnings look like?

Qualifications

Pote

nti

al Earn

ing

s

avera

ge p

er

hou

r

No qualifications £7.44 per hour.

5GCSE’s £9.02 per

hour.

Post-16 qualification

£10.25 per hour

Graduate degree £15.01

per hour

So, 90% attendance is not

as good as it might sound.

You need your attendance to be at least 95%

throughout the year

So, what can you do to make sure you achieve 100% attendance, or at

least 95%?

What your attendance % is.

Your Achievement Mentor will be able to provide you with this

information during your morning meetings.

BE MINDFUL OF …..

or you need to talk to someone about reasons for your absence, TALK TO YOUR ACHIEVEMENT

MENTOR.

IF SOMETHING IS WORRYING YOU ABOUT COMING

TO SCHOOL ……

Only take days off for genuine serious illness. (you will

know!!)

REMEMBER TO…..

The Government has said Headteacher’s should not allow

students to take holidays in term time.

BE AWARE THAT…..

When you are absent from school, your friends are still here. You will

miss out on being with them.

REMEMBER THAT…..

Every time you miss a day of school, you miss important work and it is sometimes

very difficult to catch up.

HOWEVER

You will have to

THINK ABOUT…..

when you apply for College, we have to include your attendance print-out in your reference. This shows exactly how many

days you have attended school.

Solihull College Reference Form

ATTENDANCEThe student has attended all classes

The student has missed some classes

The student has missed a significant number of classes

BE MINDFUL OF …..

and so ….. finally

Attend and Achieve! If you can improve your attendance

by 1%, you will see a 5-6% improvement in achievement. (Department

for Education and Skills)

Get your attendance above 95% and achieve your potential.

Achieve 100% attendance during a term and receive a certificate that

you can show to colleges/workplaces, as well enough chocolate or sweets to fill you up!

and finally, finally…

Great qualifications

Lots of opportunities

A better future lifestyle

Better friendships

Good attendance =