Attendance
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Attendance and COVID-19
We appreciate that the rules surrounding coronavirus will have an impact on student attendance. We ask that where a learner or one of their household members has symptoms of coronavirus (high temp, cough or loss of taste/smell) that the learner does not attend school. Below, you will find some useful documents and information about how school is managing coronavirus and the steps our families need to take.
Absence and Coronavirus - FAQs
Absence and Coronavirus - Flow Chart
Guidance from Greater Manchester Public Health
Attendance and Punctuality
The school’s Attendance Policy can be found here.
Absence
If your child is absent, please ensure it is for a genuine illness or emergency only. Please phone the school’s attendance office every day of absence, to notify school of the absence explaining the reason and length of absence expected. Please let school know by 8.15am. The number is 01457 764006. Please make all medical or dental appointments after school where possible. Please send the appointment card into school where possible; otherwise please put a note in your child's planner
Attendance Badges
These badges will be awarded to learners who achieve the following attendance:
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Bronze Award 100% Attendance for one term |
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Silver Award 100% Attendance for two terms |
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Gold Award 100% Attendance for three terms |
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This Special Badge is awarded, in addition to the Gold Badge, to learners who have achieved all three badges during an Academic Year. |
Attendance and Punctuality
Attendance & Punctuality: Information for Parents
Great Attendance = Great Achievement!: There is a proven link between good attendance and high achievement. learnerswho have excellent attendance (97% or above) are more likely to succeed at school. That’s why, at Longdendale High School, we encourage all of our learners to aim for 100% attendance; anything less than 97% is unacceptable. Frequent absences, can really add up and be harmful to your child’s progress at school:
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How many days and lessons will I miss in… |
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A week? |
A year? |
5 years? |
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My % attendance is… |
100% |
0 days |
0 days |
0 days |
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95% |
0.25 days/1 lesson |
10 days/50 lessons |
50 days/250 lessons |
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90% |
0.5 days/3 lessons |
20 days/100 lessons |
100 days/500 lessons |
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85% |
0.75 days/4 lessons |
30 days/150 lessons |
150 days/750 lessons |
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80% |
1 day/5 lessons |
40 days/200 lessons |
200 days/1,000 lessons |
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Absences: If your child is unwell and unable to attend school please ensure you contact school before 9:00 am to let us know. You need to make contact with us on every subsequent day that your son/daughter is absent. If you fail to contact us to notify us of an absence then we will be unable to authorise your child’s absence. If your child is absent for 3 days or more, or if you have received an attendance letter from school requesting medical evidence for absences, we kindly ask that you provide some form of medical evidence in order for us to authorise the absence (copy of doctor’s appointment card, copy of a prescription, doctor’s letter, etc.). learners should return to school as soon as possible after their period of illness.
Persistent Absence: A learner is deemed to be “Persistently Absent” if they have attendance below 90%.
Medical Appointments: Whilst we recognise that it is not always possible to do so, we ask that you please try and arrange all medical appointments for after school or in the school holidays. Where learners have an appointment during school hours we ask that, where possible, you send your son/daughter into school before and/or after the appointment. A full day of absence is not necessary for a medical appointment. The school requires a copy of the medical appointment card/letter in order to authorise the time away from school.
Legal Consequences: Legally, the parents of a learner with attendance below 90% could be prosecuted under the Education Act (1996). The Borough Solicitor may consider an offence under section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 which carries a maximum fine of £1000. If the Borough Solicitor determines that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute you for an offence under section 444(1a) of the Education Act 1996 for knowingly allowing your child to fail to regularly attend school, this would carry a sentence of a maximum 3 months imprisonment and/or a fine of £2,500. If a child has 10 or more sessions of unauthorised absence over a twelve week period, parents could also be issued with a Penalty Notice Fine of up to £120 per parent.
Holidays in Term Time: Legislation states that “The Head Teacher may not grant any leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances”. Family holidays no longer constitute exceptional circumstances and consequently will not be authorised. Parents/carers must apply to the Head Teacher in writing if they wish their child to have a leave of absence in term time, detailing when the absence will take place and the exceptional circumstances behind the absence. Parents who take their child out of school in term time without the permission of the Head Teacher will be issued with a Penalty Notice fine of up to £120 per child.
Punctuality: All learners must be in school for 8.30am. If learners arrive after this time they should proceed to the main reception where they will be marked as late. If a learner is late after 8:35am they will receive a consequence from their form tutor.
Although you may not realise it, repeated lateness results in your child missing a lot of school and has an adverse effect on their achievement. For example, a child who is repeatedly 10 minutes late to school every day will miss 6 days of school every year.
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Time lost through LATENESS… |
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Minutes Late (a day) |
A week |
A year |
Across five years at LHS |
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5 |
25 minutes |
3 school days |
15 school days |
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10 |
50 minutes |
6 school days |
30 school days |
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15 |
1 hour and 15 minutes |
9 school days |
45 school days |
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20 |
1 hour and 40 minutes |
12 school days |
60 school days |
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25 |
2 hours and 5 minutes |
16 school days |
80 school days |
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30 |
2 hours and 30 minutes |
19 school days |
95 school days |
For further information about how we manage Attendance and Punctuality at Longdendale you can find the school’s attendance policy on our website, or alternatively please contact your child’s Form Tutor.
Leave of Absence / Holidays
Please see the term dates for the 2019/20 academic year below.
If you intend to go on holiday next year, please ensure you do so during the school holidays.
Term Dates 2020/21
BANK HOLIDAYS
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Legislation states that “The Head Teacher may not grant any leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances”.
Family holidays no longer constitute exceptional circumstances and consequently will not be authorised.
Parents/carers must apply to the Head Teacher in writing if they wish their child to have a leave of absence in term time, detailing when the absence will take place and the exceptional circumstances behind the absence.
Parents who take their child out of school in term time without the permission of the Head Teacher will be issued with a Penalty Notice fine of up to £120 per child per parent.
Penalty Notice Information Letter
Attendance Officer
Our Attendance Officer may contact families and learners having issues with their attendance. Their role is to assist learners and families in overcoming any barriers that may exist that are stopping your child from attending school regularly. If a learner’s attendance does not improve to the required level after support has been put in place you risk prosecution for persistent absence.