Attendance & Punctuality

If you would like further information about the school's attendance policy please contact Miss S Kerrigan, Attendance Officer

Attendance

Sale High School is dedicated to working with students and their families to secure excellent punctuality and attendance. National average attendance is 95% and we are working hard to ensure that wherever possible our students' attendance is in line with or exceeding this figure. We believe that regular school attendance is the key to enabling young people to maximise the educational opportunities available to them and become emotionally resilient, confident and competent adults.

Every day a student misses school, a total of five hours of learning is lost and whilst we understand that illness can’t always be avoided, just a few days of absence can have a huge impact on a child’s attendance figure and their education as a whole.

We use the ‘attendance diamond’ as a way of assessing where students are in terms of their attendance and the possible impact this may have on their achievement.

• Green 97-100% - No risk
• Yellow 95-96.9% - Slight Risk of underachievement
• Amber 93-94.9% - Some risk of underachievement
• Pink 90-92.9% - Serious risk of underachievement
• Red Below 90% - Severe risk of underachievement

Punctuality

• Students should be their form room at 8.50 each morning
• If they are late to form they will be marked in with an ‘L’ and parents/carers will be informed
• It is students’ responsibility to ensure that they attend form time and are signed in with their tutor
• If students arrive to school after 9.15 they must sign in at student services. They will be given a 45 minute detention unless there is a valid reason for being late

We ask parents to

 Please ensure your child attends school every day unless they are seriously ill

 Contact school on the first day of any absence before 9.30am and each subsequent day that your child is absent

 Provide a note confirming absences

 Provide medical confirmation for prolonged periods of absence

 Make all non emergency medical appointments outside of school hours or in school holidays

 Do not book holidays to take place during term time

 Provide up to date contact details

As a school we will

 Promote and reward good attendance

 Work in partnership with parents and carers

 Monitor all students attendance and coordinate support for students who struggle to attend regularly

 Authorise up to a maximum of six sessions of absence for illness unless medical evidence is received