Attendance Requirements
Your child should attend every day the school is open. This is what we mean by regular attendance.
We insist that students are present every day that the school is open, recognising that excellent attendance represents a commitment to make the most of learning opportunities, which is central to our core value of engagement. Excellent attendance is rewarded and celebrated as we recognise that regular attendance has a positive effect on the motivation and attainment of our students. Consistent and punctual attendance are qualities which are highly valued by employers, who want to know that their work force is reliable, and as such they are qualities we seek to develop in our students.
We expect students to attend school regularly – this means 100% attendance. 95% attendance during the year means that students have been absent for 10 days. This equates to two full school weeks or 50 hours of learning that has been missed.
Being late to school can have a negative impact on well-being and progress. Our lessons start promptly at 8:30am and students should arrive in time to be ready to learn at this time. Arriving five minutes late to school every day adds up to over three days absence in a year.
Even though our attendance expectations are high, we understand there are unavoidable circumstances that can impact a student’s attendance. We have an extensive pastoral team that are dedicated to supporting students that are struggling, for many reasons but in this particular case, with barriers to attending school.
If your child feels unwell in the morning but seems better later in the morning, please bring them into school for the afternoon session.
You must report absence every day that your child is absent from school.
For more information regarding absence please refer to our Attendance Policy
Who is the ‘Attendance Team’ and when are they available?
Our Attendance Officer, Mrs Arnold, is available Monday, Wednesday and Friday between the hours of 08:00 – 15:30 with Tuesday and Thursday between the hours of 08:00 – 16:00. The Lead Attendance Officer, Miss Stuart-Buttle is available Monday – Thursday between 08:00 – 15:30.
The Senior Attendance Champion is Mr Stewart, Deputy Headteacher.
Please contact studentabsence@denbigh.net or leave a voicemail at 01908 330 536 if you wish discuss attendance matters and a member of the team will respond to you.
Reporting Absence
Parents/Carers should inform the school of potential lateness to school, or absence, before 8:00am. This must be via the absence reporting channels detailed below. Be aware that Tutors/Heads of Year are not always able to see their emails until later in the day, due to teaching commitments, so please inform the Attendance Team as a priority.
When reporting student absence, parents/carers should provide student’s name, their name, and nature of absence (including detail of absence and when you expect them to return).
ParentMail
Student absence can be reported via the ParentMail App. Go to the ‘Reporting student absence’ tab and select the length and nature of the absence from the drop-down menus. Please provide as much detail as possible regarding the absence in the comments section. This message will be sent directly to the Attendance Team.
Email and Voicemail
Year 7 to 11 student absence can be reported to our Attendance Team via our dedicated mailbox. Email: studentabsences@denbigh.net Telephone: 01908 330536
For Sixth Form absence please contact our Sixth Form Attendance Administrator: Email: sixthformattendance@denbigh.net Telephone: 01908 773940
Illness
On occasions that your child feels unwell in the morning, please encourage them to attend in the first instance. Sometimes having a stomach ache or headache can speak to issues other than illness, such as not having completed homework and being worried about the consequences. Identifying the cause of the symptoms of apparent illness, and informing their tutor or head of year, can aid in overcoming these scenarios often as the student is reassured that a member of staff is aware as a starting point. This way, if further support is required on that particular day, it can be identified and applied to aid the student to address their worries rather than avoid them.
If there is not an identifiable reason for the symptoms, please still encourage your child to attend and know they can attend First Aid Services if they do not feel better throughout the day. The Senior First Aider may call you to discuss whether your child needs collecting from school or can manage for the rest of the day. Equally, if they do stay at home in the morning but feel better throughout the day, please bring them to school as soon as they do.
Of course, there will be occasions that your child is too unwell to attend school in which case you must inform the school as soon as possible. If your child is absent due to illness, even if they will only be absent for part of the day, report this using the details above.
Appointments
All appointments should be made out of school hours or in the holidays. Where this is unavoidable (usually with hospital or specialist appointments), we advise you to make this as late as possible to reduce the amount of school that is missed. No matter the time of appointment we expect your child to attend before and after the appointment to avoid missing vital parts of their education.
Appointments must be reported to the Attendance Team as soon as they are scheduled via the channels detailed above.
Attendance Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my child does not attend school and I haven’t informed the school?
Parents/Carers should report all absence by 8:00am on each day of absence from school. In the event our Attendance Team has not received communication from parents/carers reporting their child’s absence, they will attempt to make contact to establish reason for absence which can include telephone calls, letters and home visits.
What happens if my child attends school irregularly?
Attendance is monitored closely and reviewed periodically (4-weekly) by the Attendance Team and Heads of Year. Actions will be decided according to our Attendance Intervention Procedure to give parents/carers an opportunity to raise any issues they are facing in regards to attendance. Support will be provided to help students secure regular attendance to school. Signposting and referrals may be made to outside agencies, where necessary. Denbigh School recognises there are many different reasons for student absence and that each family circumstance is unique so parents/carers should communicate any issues with staff as soon as they arise so they are resolved quickly.
If students fail to secure regular attendance, despite support from Denbigh School, then parents/carers may be subject to legal action, for more information on Attendance Intervention please see the Attendance Policy .
What happens if my child is late to school?
Students are expected to attend every day and arrive to their tutorial classroom by 8:25am, before the start of the school day at 8:30am. Punctuality to all sessions and lessons is important.
A student who arrives after the start of the school day, but before the registers have closed at 9:00am will be marked as ‘late’ to that session, using the appropriate code in this circumstance. A student who arrived after the start of the school day, without a previously authorised reason, and after the registers have closed at 9:00am will be marked as ‘late’ to that session, using the appropriate code in this circumstance. This is considered an unauthorised absence.
Students that arrive late to school without parental notification, or with parental notification that is not authorised by Denbigh School, will sit a 15 minute break-time detention on the same day. If students fail to attend this detention, the consequence will escalate to a leadership detention. Parents are notified when students are issued a leadership detention.
Like attendance, we monitor punctuality closely. Every week the Attendance Team will identify students that have been late on multiple occasions each week. A letter will be sent to you via ParentMail to inform you of your child’s persistent lateness. We ask that you address these concerns with your child or reach out to the Attendance Team if you are having issues getting your child to school on time.
Can I take my child on holiday during term time?
Denbigh School do not authorise family holidays during term time. Recent legislation states that leave of absence requests for ‘leisure or recreation’ are not deemed exceptional circumstances and considered a family holiday. As such, these requests will be recorded with the same unauthorised code.
Term dates are available on the website two years in advance to enable planning and booking of appointments, events and holidays in advance. If you choose to take your child on holiday during term time you may be subject to a Fixed Penalty Notice issued by Milton Keynes Council.
How do I request an exceptional Leave of Absence?
We understand that there may be events which you would like to attend that are unexpected and have no control over, for example a funeral. In circumstances such as these you must request a leave of absence, in advance, to studentabsence@denbigh.net providing as much detail as possible along with supporting evidence. This will be passed to the Headteacher to consider the request. Previous requests for leave of absence and attendance will be taken into consideration when deciding on authorisation.
Regulated performances and national/international sporting events will also be considered for authorisation providing sufficient evidence is provided. Applications should be made the same way as other leave of absence requests.
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