Attendance

 Attendance - 2024 - 25

At St George's we consider attendance and punctuality to be important. 

We work closely with our attendance officer based at Mossley Hollins High School and support the work they do. 

We also work in close conjunction with our Trust, Forward as One to ensure that children are in school to ensure maximum learning.  Please click HERE to see the strategy.  

If children are not in school, parents/carers will receive a phone call if we have not heard the reason for absence. 

Click HERE to see the school policy for attendance and punctuality 

ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL

Once a child starts school parents should not only make sure that their child attends school regularly, but also that they arrive at school on time, in uniform, and in a fit state to benefit from the education which is offered to them.

It is helpful if parents see themselves as working in partnership with the school in obtaining an education for their child. They can do this by teaching children to value education, to complete homework on time and to obey the rules of the school. This should be reinforced through discipline in the home.

The Local Education Authority has a duty to enforce the attendance at school of children of compulsory school age. If a child does not attend school regularly, the parent could be prosecuted in the Magistrates Court, and be subject to a fine or other penalties.

Attendance & Punctuality

If you wish your child to make steady progress, regular attendance is essential. It is your legal responsibility to make sure that your child attends school regularly.  The school target is set at 96% for all. Our attendance officer; based at Mossley Hollins, regularly attends school to check the registers and will intervene if the attendance drops below 92%.  You will receive a series of letters reminding you of your child’s attendance, particularly if there have been no adequate reasons for absence.

If your child is ill, please telephone us, if possible before 9.15 am so we know your child is safe at home. It is very important that the school is notified of all absences as otherwise they are classed as unauthorised.  You will receive a phone call or text from us if we do not hear from you.

 TERM TIME HOLIDAYS

Taking holidays during the school term is detrimental to the education of your child and the government have stated that schools can never authorise holidays in term time.  All applications will be unauthorised and may, except in exceptional circumstances (which does not include ‘due to cost’), include a penalty warning if your holidays means that your child will miss 10 sessions (5 school days) of school. If you have to take your child out during term time, please complete a form which can be collected from the school office and give at least 28 days notice.

Fixed Penalty Notice

Taken from Tameside MBC website:

Tameside Council believe that any absence from school, for whatever reason, is detrimental to a child’s long term life opportunities, so should be avoided if at all possible. Reducing absence from school is a key priority, both nationally and locally, because missing school damages a pupil’s attainment levels, disrupts school routines and can leave a pupil vulnerable to anti-social behaviour and youth crime.

For these reasons, the powers given under Section 23 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, 2003, have been adopted by Tameside. This gives an additional strategy to be used as a sanction when parents do not fulfil their responsibility to ensure their children attend school regularly.

They can give each parent a fine of £80, rising to £160 if you do not pay within 21 days.  From the 2024 to 2025 school year, each parent will only get up to 2 fines for the same child in a 3-year period.

If you get a second fine in 3 years it will be £160. If you do not pay the fine in 28 days you may be taken to court for keeping your child out of school.

 If your child is off school 3 or more times within the 3 years you will not be fined but may be taken to court.

SAM’S STORY

Sam is Year 8. 

His attendance rate is always around 90%. 

He thinks this is pretty good!

So what does an attendance rate of 90% look like?

90% attendance means that he is absent from lessons 
for the equivalent of one half day every week.

In Year 7 Sam’s 90% attendance rate means that he has missed the 
equivalent of four whole weeks of lessons in the school year.   

If Sam continues to attend for only 90% of the time, then over five years 
he will miss the equivalent of about one half of a school year.

How do you think 90% attendance rate will affect Sam’s chances of doing well in school?

Research suggests that 17 days missed from school equates to a GCSE grade.