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Attendance

How to contact the college about attendance.

If your child is absent from College, please telephone the attendance line on 01483-484509, between 8.00am – 9.00am or alternatively email our Attendance Administrator on absence@christscollege.surrey.sch.uk

We have an automatic communication system in operation that will contact you directly if your child is marked absent at registration and we have not heard from a parent/carer. This is to ensure that the reason for absence is known as soon as possible and alert you if your child is not in College when they should be. Upon your child’s return, please provide a written note to explain any absence.

 

Students arriving after registration

If a student is late to College without a reasonable explanation and arrives after registration by 8.30am (students register between 8.25am - 8.30am on the MUGA)  they will be marked as late and an after school sanction will be issued and put in place for the day it occurs. Parents will be informed during the day via email and Arbor if students are being kept in college until 3.15pm that day.

If a student is consistently late, then further sanctions will be applied as deemed appropriate by a senior member of staff.   If a student arrives after registration closes, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. This is to comply with legal requirements.

 

Medical appointments

If your child is absent due to a medical appointment, then you must provide evidence of the appointment. This can be an appointment card, letter or an email confirmation and should be forwarded to the Attendance Administrator. If appointments are during the college day, students are required to sign out at Reception before they leave the college site, and to sign back in again at Reception after their appointment. 

Click here to request application for leave of absence for exceptional circumstances

Why does good attendance make a difference?

At Christ's College we consider attendance to be central to each students success and academic achievement; the higher the level of attendance, the better the chance of success. The expectation is that every student attends every day they possibly can. Good attendance promotes lifelong skills and is the first thing prospective employers and colleges ask about.

Research shows that students who miss a substantial amount of school fall behind their peers, and struggle to catch up, so although it may seem that missing a few days of college may not seem significant, it does in fact have a direct impact on their learning.  Most of the work they miss may never be made up, which can lead to big gaps in their learning.

Students who miss between 10%- 20% of college (or 19 to 38 days per year) have only a 35% chance of achieving five or more good GCSEs. Conversely, students with attendance of 90% or above have a strong chance of achieving five 9 - 5 GCSE grades.

Poor attendance can affect a student’s ability to make and keep friendships; a vital part of growing up. It is difficult for students who miss school to form good social relationships.

Did you know?

  • 98% attendance = less than 4 days absent from school
  • 96% attendance = 7 ½ days absent from school
  • 90% attendance = 4 weeks absent from school
  • 85% attendance = 5 ½ weeks absent from school
  • 80% attendance = 7 ½ weeks absent from school

 

Supporting good attendance

The College will monitor each student's attendance and contact you if there is a concern. If intervention is required, we will discuss with parents/carers an action plan to support attendance. If attendance is unsatisfactory, we may have to inform the Inclusion Officer. This may result in legal action. In line with government legislation the standard penalty charge for unauthorised absence will be £60 per child, per parent, rising to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days. If not paid, the recipient will be prosecuted for the absence.

 

Policies

Our Attendance  & Punctuality Policy can be found on our Policies website page here 

 

 

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