Good attendance at school is the single most important factor to ensure that young people have the maximum life chances – attendance is strongly linked to educational achievement. Promoting positive school attendance is everyone’s responsibility.

Pupils who miss school risk failing to achieve what they are capable of. Figures have shown that 90% of persistent, poor or non‐attenders fail to achieve five or more good grades at GCSE and approximately one third achieve no GCSEs at all.

Developing good habits of attendance and punctuality are key life skills.

When pupils miss school … they miss out!

Good attendance is important in order for children to:

– Achieve their potential.

– Develop a positive attitude towards school and good habits of punctuality and attendance.

– See themselves as an important part of the school community and to value and respect school life.

Schools recognise that this can only be achieved through a close partnership with parents.

Questions to consider:

Do you know what your child’s current attendance and/or punctuality figure is?

Do you know what it means?

Do you know what effects it could have on your future?

What does 90% Attendance Mean?

90% attendance = ½ day missed every week!

Over one school year this is 4 weeks of learning lost!

What impact might this have on your child’s future …?

17 missed schools days means that in secondary school they could drop a whole GCSE grade.

8 days absence = 96%.

19 days absence = 90%.

Punctuality matters too! Missed minutes = missed learning = missed opportunities!

Being frequently late for school adds up to lost learning:

– Arriving 5 minutes late every day adds up to over 3 days lost each year.

– Arriving 15 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 2 weeks a year.

– Arriving 30 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 19 days a year.

Some Strategies to Improve Punctuality

 Bedtime routines – packing school bag ready for the next day, getting to bed earlier, setting a time for a television, iPad, computer, mobile phone and other devices to be turned off.

Morning routines – setting the alarm earlier, no television until ready for school (and maybe not even then), having breakfast before leaving home, so no need to call in at the shop, meeting a reliable friend to walk to school with.