Why is attendance important?

Regular attendance at school will impact on your child’s academic progress-pupils need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education. Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. Children with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and secondary school.

Research indicates that there is a direct link between poor attendance and poor achievement. St Nicholas High School has a minimum target of 96% attendance for every child. A student who has only 90% attendance misses almost 4 weeks of school every year. That’s over 100 hours of learning lost. If young people do not attend school regularly, they will experience difficulty in keeping up with their studies. In addition, they also miss out on the many activities and opportunities that we offer at School that support the curriculum and nurture their growth into young adults. Students who do not attend school regularly are at a greater risk of becoming involved in crime.

St Nicholas Catholic High School believes that regular school attendance is the key to enabling pupils to maximise the educational opportunities available to them and become emotionally resilient, confident and competent adults who are able to realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to their community.

A pupil’s attendance will directly affect their achievement in school. Evidence shows that a pupil’s progress and attainment is affected if their attendance falls below 90% and statistics show that if pupils miss just 17 days (34 sessions) of school, their GCSE attainment is likely to drop by an entire grade.

It is important that we help our young people to get into the good habits that they will need in the workplace. Excellent attendance and punctuality are essential in their future employment and we regularly receive requests from potential employers for references regarding attendance and punctuality. Students who develop a poor pattern of attendance and punctuality will be monitored by our Pastoral Team and you may be invited into school for a meeting. As a parent/carer, you are legally responsible for ensuring that your child attends school regularly and is punctual.

If a pupil does not attend school or is not taking part in an approved educational activity, they are classed as ABSENT from school. This means that if your child is off school for any reason, even if they are ill or have medical permission to be off school, they will be marked as ABSENT.

100% attendance is 190 days in school.

8 days of absence is 96%.

12 days of absence is 94%.

19 days absence is 90%.

29 days absence is 85%.

38 days absence is 80%.

47 days absence is 75%.

If you require any support regarding attendance – please do get in touch – we are here to help.