Sixth Form Attendance Policy
Attendance
If your daughter/son is unable to attend school due to illness, a parent/carer must report the absence on the School Gateway app (Attendance>Notify) before 8.25am on every day of an illness, quoting clearly their name, year and form, the reason for absence and when they are anticipated to return. If a report is not made a truancy call will be sent out to report the absence to parents. Where an absence exceeds 5 school days due to illness, (excluding the weekend) you will be expected to provide to the school medical evidence (appointment cards, prescriptions, letters or a medical certificate) from a Doctor.
If your daughter/son is taken ill during the school day, they must speak to a member of the Sixth Form team, who will judge whether they need to go home. They will need a note on the gateway from you in order to have permission to leave school. If your daughter/son misses lessons through absence, they must be prepared to make up all the work set on each day, both in class and set for homework. They may be required to attend additional supervised study sessions.
Your daughter/son may leave school after their form time if they have no timetabled lessons in the afternoon. They are NOT permitted to leave school before this time. Students are NOT permitted to undertake any employment during school hours from 8.30am to 3.00pm even if they have no afternoon lessons. They should also make sure that they consider travel time to their workplace/appointments when booking them after 3.00pm.
Failure to follow these rules will result in the withdrawal of privileges and/or the application of sanctions. ALL students MUST sign out at the Sixth Form Office, Inglewood House if they leave before lunch for an appointment or in the afternoon if they have lessons/study; this is an important Health & Safety requirement. To leave the school site before lunch break, sixth formers will need an official letter or appointment card. If this is agreed, the student can sign out in the Sixth Form Office. Students will only be permitted to leave if this procedure has been followed.
Your daughter/son’s attendance to school should be at or above our whole school target. Sixth form tutors and the sixth form team monitor attendance, and any student whose attendance falls below the school target will receive a warning letter and an expected attendance target. Parents/carers may be called to a meeting to discuss any concerns.
Persistent absence may jeopardise their place in the sixth form and entry for examinations.
Punctuality
School starts for ALL Sixth Form students at 8:25am each day, attendance at lessons, supervised study, tutor time and assemblies are compulsory. Students should make sure they are registered in their lesson, study period or with the sixth form team at 8.25am. Your daughter/son will be marked late if they are not in school and registered before 8:30am.
A parent/carer must use the School Gateway app (Attendance>Notify) before 8.25am quoting clearly their daughter/son’s name, year and form, and advise that they are expected to be in school later in the morning – e.g. attending an urgent doctor’s appointment. If a student arrives after 9.00am it may be recorded as an unauthorised absence.
Lateness to school and lessons is inconsiderate to other students as well as the teacher as it causes unnecessary stress and disrupts learning. In accordance with the school’s Behaviour Policy, if students are late to school they will be required to attend a 30-minute detention the following day. If a student does not attend this detention, it will become a 1 hour and 45 minute Leadership detention on Thursday of the same week. Persistent lateness may jeopardise a student’s place in the sixth form and entry for examinations.
Please note:
- Requests for holidays during term time will not be authorized
- Medical and dental appointments should be made outside school hours
- Driving lessons should be outside school hours