Attendance

Congratulations to the following forms – your attendance since Monday, 6th September 2010 to last Friday, 12th November 2010 is 90% or above:-

7C, 7E, 7D, 7U, 7T, 7A

8E, 8C, 8T , 8D, 8A, 8I,8O,8N

9E, 9A, 9S

10A, 10I, 10C, 10T, 10O, 10N

11O, 11N, 11S

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

Do you know?

If your child’s attendance is 80% throughout the Comprehensive School, at the end of Year 11, he/she will only have attended 4 out of 5 years. What a waste!

Rights and responsibilities in relation to attendance

If children do not arrive in school they are deprived of the educational opportunities which school has to offer them.

At Mountain Ash we have aimed to create an ethos which demonstrates to pupils, parents and the wider community how much we value good attendance, reliability and punctuality, all attributes for a successful life after school.

The responsibilities of a pupil

A pupil has to:

Attend school to learn
Attend school to appreciate the discipline of reliability
Realise that 100% is the acceptable level of attendance unless there is a valid reason for missing school

BEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE

The vast majority of children attend school regularly. They don’t truant. Think of the positive reasons for attending school.

The rights of a pupil

A pupil:

Can expect a high standard of education
Can expect to be treated as an equal member of the school community
Has the right to be heard

The responsibilities of parents

Parents:

Must send their children to school
Must ensure their children arrive in school on time
Should contact the school if their child is unwell
Should send a letter or telephone the school when they make an appointment for their child during the school day
Must ask permission of the Headteacher to take their child on holiday during the school term

The rights of parents

Parents:

Have the right to expect the best education for their children
Can expect that they will be informed if their child is not in school and we have not been notified of the reason for absence
Can expect that they will be informed of their child’s performance, good or bad

The responsibilities of the school

The school must:

Educate every child to the maximum of his/her ability
Administer discipline in a firm but fair manner
Recognise the equality and importance of every pupil
Create an environment to prepare the pupil for life
Set the best example of community life including attendance

The rights of the school

The school can expect:

That pupils attend for 100% of the school year
Pupils to arrive on time
Pupils to behave well and learn
Parents to support their children to achieve their potential

AUTHORISED ABSENCE

If your child has an appointment to see the dentist, doctor or hospital, please notify the school in advance, with an appointment card if possible.

The reason for absence will be recorded.

It would be preferable if parents would make such appointments out of school hours.

Home Tuition, Courses (educational and sporting) are the responsibility of the school and marks will be entered by the appropriate member of staff.

HOLIDAYS

These should be counted as absence on the register. The reason for the absence will be recorded so not further action will be taken. Whenever possible, holidays must be taken outside term time, but if this is not possible, then you should apply to the school for leave of absence and this will only be granted if it is a family holiday. A maximum of ten days may be taken in a school year. It MUST be realised that this accounts for 5% of the school year.

OTHER AUTHORISED ABSENCES

Your child will be marked absent but the reason for absence will be noted if the following circumstances occur:

Illness of the child
Bereavement of a close member of the family
If permission for absence has been granted by the Headteacher, Mr H Lloyd

UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE

The school cannot accept any of the excuses listed below:

Going for a haircut
Looking after family
Looking after house
Missed bus
No school work after exams
No uniform
Sham illness
Shopping
Slept late

LINKS