Attendance

Illness and Absence

Student Absence line:

01672 515081 (Years 7-11 Option 1)   (Sixth Form Option 2)

Attendance enquiries:
Years 7-11 attendance@stjohns.excalibur.org.uk

Sixth Form sixthformabsence@stjohns.excalibur.org.uk

Parents/carers must phone us to report any student absence, no later than 08:30 on the day of the absence
Phone us on every day of any absence unless you have previously confirmed start and end dates
If you do not notify us of an absence our automated attendance system will contact parents and carers to request validation of the absence. Unexplained or unauthorised absences are regarded as truancy and will be recorded as such.

Medical Appointments

Medical or other appointments in school time should be avoided if possible. If it is unavoidable, a half day absence is considered sufficient for most appointments. To register a planned absence, please contact us, giving at least 24 hours notice.

Other absence

By law Headteachers are only permitted to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances such as a family member’s funeral. Parents/carers must submit a Leave of Absence request form at least 10 school days in advance. A link to the Leave of Absence Form is below.

Sixth Form Leave of Absence Form

Please use this form to request time off school for an extended absence, such as holidays or family weddings. For medical appointments, university open days and interviews and illness, please use sixthformabsence@stjohns.excalibur.org.uk or call 01672 515081 and select Option 2.

Impact on Learning

We all want the best for our children and to take care of them when they are unwell. However, there is a strong link between attendance at school and levels of achievement.

If you believe that your child is unhappy at school, or is missing school due to an ongoing issue, you should contact us as soon as possible so we can work to resolve any difficulties.

Setting a good pattern of attendance at the start of the school year will help your children now, but also later in life when they move into the workplace, where reliability is so important. Children only get one chance at school and poor attendance can hamper an individual’s chance of success in the future.

We would prefer all our students to have 100% attendance, but this is not realistic. We track attendance carefully and where we note patterns of falling attendance, senior staff and the pastoral team will be involved, attendance letters will be sent home, and meetings will take place between home and school.

If absence is persistent without evidence, penalty notices can be issued.

If we believe a student is absent without a genuine reason, or if they frequently miss school due to illness, we will investigate, may request medical evidence, and the Education Welfare Service may be involved.

A few facts

• Our data shows that St John’s students with 95% or higher attendance achieve on average 1 Grade higher in all their GCSEs, compared to students whose attendance is 85% or lower.
• 95% attendance is achieved when students miss no more than 10 days of school across the academic year.
• A student who has 15 days of absence each year will have missed half a year of school by the end of Year 11.
• Attendance below 90% is classed by the Department for Education as Persistently Absent.