Why Is School Attendance Important?

Here at Stockport Academy we have the highest expectations across all areas of school life including attendance. We value positive relationships between both staff and pupils, and want all pupils to feel they belong here and are valued. We work with our pupils to ensure that they have the highest possible attendance at school. We believe that this is the best way for them to succeed and to get the most out of all we have to offer.

There is a clear link between academic outcomes and school attendance. We want all pupils to achieve excellent outcomes to give themselves the very best chance in life.

There are 175 non-school days per year for holidays, shopping and appointments. There is no need, except in extreme circumstances to miss a day’s education. If you miss one session every week (remember, there are two sessions per day) your attendance is 90%. This means you miss 19 days of education in a year and risk dropping one grade in your GCSEs.

It is vital we work together to teach our pupils the value of attending school each and every day. However, we do appreciate that at times, pupils may not be able to attend school. We ask our parents and carers to follow the processes below. They support our safeguarding procedures.

Should you have a concern about your child’s attendance, then we ask that you contact us to discuss this. We believe in strong partnerships across all parts of school life. This includes attending school.

It is also important to us that pupils arrive to school on time, and they must be at school by 8.25am.

How do I report my child absent from school?

Call the school (0161 286 0330) before 8:25am on the first and subsequent absent days. If you need to leave a message, we ask that you leave:

·      Your name.

·      Child’s name,

·      Child’s form.

·      Reason for their absence.

 Do expect to receive a call back from the school to discuss your child’s absence and to see if we can support in any way. If pupils suffer any form of injury, then we ask that you contact the school to make us aware. This is so we can do a risk assessment with you. It will identify impacts of the injury and the support your child may need.

Why is it important that my child isn't late to school?

The school day starts at 8.25am and we expect your child to be in school at that time. Registers close at 8.25am and arrival after that time will mean the child is late. Lateness means they miss out on important routines which help get their day off to a positive start. Late arriving pupils also disrupt lessons during the day for others.

What happens if my child is late to school?

Stockport Academy places a lot of importance on reading during form time. As a consequence of this, students who arrive late to school will be issued with a detention at lunchtime as they have arrived late to form time.  Students who are late to school on three occasions in a week will also be issued with a one-hour detention on a Friday afternoon.

What happens if my child is late to a lesson?

Students who are late to lessons will receive a detention during lunchtime or the following day if it is during period 5.

Why is it important to get good attendance in school?

We reward those students whose attendance is good or better or showing signs of significant improvement.

The range of rewards we use includes certificates,  Attendance Reward Trips and invitations to high profile events such as the Year 11 Prom, or Prizegiving.

Regular attendance of students is closely related to their levels of achievement. This makes the issue of regular attendance of great importance. Under education legislation, parents have a duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly and punctually. Failure to do so, without reasonable excuse, can result in referrals to the Local Authority with the prospect of fines or prosecution for those parents, should a child’s attendance not improve rapidly.

What is Good School Attendance?

It is useful for you to know what attendance figures mean for your child. We encourage all parents and carers to use the Arbor app in order to monitor their child's attendance.

Our minimum expected target for all students is 96%.

All students whose attendance is below 90% are classified as Persistent Absentees and, depending upon personal circumstances, face possible referral to the Education Inclusion Partnership Team.

Parents are expected to perform their legal duty by ensuring their children of compulsory school age who are registered at Stockport Academy attend regularly and arrive to school on time. If a child of compulsory school age fails to attend regularly at a school at which they are registered the parents may be guilty of an offence and can be prosecuted by the local authority.

Our attendance team supports parents, students, teaching staff and other professionals to secure the highest possible attendance for all students.