Attendance
Report Absence – Please contact the school before 9am
Tel: 01425 475000
Email: attendance@ringwood.hants.sch.uk
If you are unsure if your child is too ill to be off school you might benefit from taking a look at this NHS guidance document: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Attendance Matters
‘Central to raising standards in education and ensuring all students can fulfil their potential is that students need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education. Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. Students with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and secondary school’ – DFE 2014
For a student to reach their full educational achievement, a high level of school attendance is essential. It is our duty to consistently strive to achieve a goal of 100% attendance for all students. Every opportunity will be used to convey to students and parents/carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance. For our students to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered, it is vital your child is at school, on time, every day the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. The routines children develop around attendance and punctuality at school are the same as the expectations of any future employer in the world of work. High attainment, confidence with peers and staff, and future aspirations depend on good attendance.
Promoting Good Attendance: The foundation for good attendance is a strong partnership between the school, parents/carers and the child.
To help us all to focus on this we will:
Challenge all our students to have attendance over 95%. Statistics show a direct link between under-achievement and attendance below 95%. Celebrate good attendance rates with House Points, certificates and end of year rewards.
The school should be notified by parents/carers of all illness and appointments. Requests for Leave of Absence from September 2013 school attendance regulations were changed to state that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Students are responsible for catching up the learning they have missed due to absence. Students will need to approach their teacher for this work.
As of September 2015 all schools are now required to work with Hampshire County Council to take legal action and issue penalty notices if a child has any unauthorised absence during formal examinations, assessment or testing where dates have been published/ communicated in advance. Students are responsible for catching up on the learning they have missed due to absence. Students will need to approach their teacher for this work. For more information and guidance please refer to the Attendance Policy and links to the National Guidance for Parental Responsibility.
Ofsted – ‘Pupils attend school regularly. Attendance figures are consistently in line with national averages. Leaders monitor attendance carefully, and praise and reward those pupils who come to school regularly.’
Punctuality
School starts promptly at 8.40am and the register is taken at 8.45am. The registers will close at 9.00am. Those students arriving between 8.45am and 9.00am will be recorded as ‘Late before the register closes.’ Those arriving after 9.00am will be marked as ‘Late’ and are recorded as an ‘Unauthorised Absence’ for the morning session. ‘Lates’ are monitored by the attendance team, the Headteacher and the Governing Body. Lateness to school is treated seriously and students will lose free time if it persists. Students arriving late after 9.00am must report to reception and sign in. All late arrivals before 9.00am must attend tutor time where their tutor will sign them in and record as late. This is a safety protocol. Students who are consistently late are disrupting not only their own education but also that of other students. On-going and repeated lateness is considered as unauthorised absence and could be subject to legal action. Sanctions will be issued for those who are persistently late.
As a school Ringwood is proud of it’s attendance and closely monitors the attendance of all students. Where medical evidence or other authorised reasons are not provided, legal measures will be taken to tackle persistent absence of 10 or more unauthorised sessions. It is the responsibility of parents/carers to ensure their children attend school regularly. For more information, please refer to our Attendance Policy in the Policies section of the website.