Attendance at Rainford High
Our attendance target is 97% because we want all our students to achieve their full potential. We want every student to attend Rainford to learn and thrive. This means that students must not have more than 5 days off in a year.
5-day challenge
The 5-day challenge was implemented to give students a clear understanding of how they achieve 97% attendance during the school year. If a student has more than 5 days absence from school, they are unable to meet the 5-day challenge and achieve 97% attendance.
As you’re aware, high attendance leads to improved and high academic achievement, which means greater success and opportunities for our students. If a student fails to achieve 97% attendance, there is much less chance of success in terms of academic outcomes. Students who didn’t achieve a grade 9-4 in English and maths missed 10 more days on average than those who achieved a grade 9-5 in both English and maths.
Attendance poster
The poster below is displayed in all classrooms and on screens around school to encourage positive conversations and discussions between form tutors, teaching staff and our students – we would also be grateful if you could discuss this with your child:
Rewards
We feel that rewards are an important part of our attendance strategy – below are some examples of some of the rewards we implement as a result of excellent attendance:
- Termly rewards for attendance such as vouchers, chocolates and certificates.
- 100% attendance in December reward – prize draw to win £50.
- Best weekly form attendance wins a tub of sweets for their form.
As well as rewards, we continue to provide personalised support for our most vulnerable students in terms of their attendance.
Unauthorised Absences – changes to the law (August 2024)
A new National Framework for Penalty Notices for school absence, including unauthorised holiday absence, is being introduced following changes to the law. These new Government regulations will come into effect from 19 August 2024, and we wanted to bring this to your attention now, as it will affect when penalty notices are issued.
What are the changes?
1. There will be a new national threshold of 10 unauthorised sessions for any reason (equivalent to 5 school days) within a rolling 10 school week period for when a penalty notice must be considered. Children who arrive late to school after registers close will be classed as absent for 1 session. Therefore, 10 ‘lates’ within a 10-week rolling period would result in a penalty notice being considered.
2. The new rules mean you will no longer be able to take your child out of school for one week’s holiday without a penalty notice being issued.
3. There will be an increase in the penalty fine from £60 to £80 if paid in 21 days. If the fine is not paid by the first 21 days, it will rise to £160 if paid within 28 days of being issued.
4. If a second penalty fine is issued to the same parent for the same child within a 3-year rolling period, the fine will automatically rise to £160 with no option to pay the lower rate of £80.
5. If a parent then commits a third offence in a 3-year rolling period, the local authority will need to consider other enforcement options available to them.
Should you wish to discuss your child’s attendance with a member of the team, their contact details are below:
Senior Attendance Team:
Mr Kenyon – Vice Principal responsible for school attendance
01744 885914
Mrs Cross – Director of Attendance and CEIAG
01744 885914
Day to day contacts regarding attendance:
Year 7 Pastoral Leader – Mrs Sheedy – [email protected]
Year 8 Pastoral Leader – Mrs Greenall – [email protected]
Year 9 Pastoral Leader – Miss Lawrenson – [email protected]
Year 10 Pastoral Leader – Miss Hill – [email protected]
Year 11 Pastoral Leader – Mrs McCartney – [email protected]
6th Form Pastoral Leader – Mr Pendlebury – [email protected]
Attendance Admin – Miss Lowe – [email protected]
Attendance Operational Manager – Mr Taylor – [email protected]