Reporting a Student Absence
If your child is unable to attend school, a justifiable reason must be provided. To report an absence, please follow these procedures:
Telephone:
Call the school on 01900 873290, select the attendance option, and leave a voicemail if the office staff do not pick up with the following information:
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You must call the school each day that your child is absent.
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Your child’s full name
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Tutor group
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Reason for absence (If the absence is due to illness, please specify the nature of the illness)
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Your name
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When your child is likely to return to school
Email:
Alternatively, you may email the school with the same details at attendance@sjchs.uk.
Important:
If we do not receive information regarding your child’s absence, it will be classified as unauthorised. Each day there is no communication about your child’s absence, you will receive a message from the school’s first-day response system via the Arbor in-app messaging service. On receipt of this message, contact school immediately. Lack of communications will be followed by an email from the Attendance Lead marked ‘URGENT’ if you have not contacted school, you must respond or call school. Home visits may be conducted if we are concerned about a child and school have had no information regarding their absence.
If your child has a medical condition that might affect their attendance, please inform the school so we can support them effectively. Evidence supporting any medical issue will be required. St Joseph’s have the right to contact the Safeguarding GP if we doubt authenticity of a medical condition provided.
Student Attendance
At St Joseph’s Catholic High School, we place a strong emphasis on the importance of regular attendance. Achieving outstanding attendance is a shared responsibility and plays a crucial role in a child’s academic journey.
School Target:
Our school target for attendance is 96%. If a student’s attendance falls below this level, it will be closely monitored, and we will reach out to parents to understand the reasons behind this. Children will be praised and rewarded for excellent or improved school attendance.
Regular Attendance:
Regular attendance is defined as attending school every day, arriving on time, and attending all lessons. It is the legal responsibility of parents to ensure their child attends school regularly.
We understand that illness can sometimes affect attendance, but we encourage children and parents to work together with us to reach the attendance target of 96%. If a child’s attendance falls below this target, they will be placed under attendance monitoring, attendance contracts will be initiated to help improve their attendance and Local authority intervention will be considered.
We fully understand that children may wake up feeling unwell in the morning but improve as the day goes on. In such cases, we expect that your child returns to school as soon as they are feeling better. We encourage parents and carers to make this decision based on their child’s wellbeing and school readiness. This helps maintain their learning momentum and ensures they do not miss out on important class activities.
Attendance Monitoring and Support
If a student’s attendance drops below 92% or if there are consistent patterns of absence that do not improve despite school support, we will refer the matter to the Local Authority for further action. This may involve:
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Home visits to check on the student’s welfare. Home visits will be conducted after 3 days when a child has been absent from school.
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Intervention from the Local Authority
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Legal action if necessary
Our school aims to maximise attendance rates in order to ensure that all students are able to take the fullest advantage of the learning experience available to them and are prepared for the world of work and further study. We know that good attendance is directly linked to high achievement in Year 11.
The Attendance Lead will effectively communicate concerns around your child’s attendance to help you navigate improvement.
The chart below should go some way to explaining the importance of good attendance.
Why is attendance so important?
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School work is easier to cope with: Students who attend school regularly find it easier to keep up with their work.
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Increased security and confidence: Regular attendance helps students feel more secure and less anxious.
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Better academic outcomes: Students with excellent attendance perform better academically and achieve more.
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Stronger relationships: Consistent attendance fosters stronger friendships and greater engagement in school activities.
Every absence must be classified as either authorised or unauthorised. Absences are typically authorised for valid reasons such as illness or emergencies. Authorised absences may be considered on an individual basis when information has been provided to the school.
St Joseph’s can, if needed, change of an authorised absence to an unauthorised absence and vice-versa if new information is presented or information is not authentic. Any changes will be communicated to parents/carers.
Medical and Dental Appointments
Whenever possible, please schedule medical and dental appointments outside of school hours. If appointments must occur during school time, we ask that your child attend school for the parts of the day when they do not have an appointment. This will help maximise their attendance. You must avoid making the appointment during official registration times first thing in the morning, or after lunch as this will affect your child’s overall attendance percentage.
Medical appointments will be authorised however, if your child does not attend school around the appointment, absences around the appointment will be unauthorised. We understand some appointment require travel outside the county and this will be discussed on an individual basis.
Parents should provide a copy of their appointment card or letter to the school office or email it to the attendance email address.
Local Authority Involvement
St Joseph’s Catholic High School works closely with the Local Authority to ensure that all students of compulsory school age have access to education. If a child accumulates 10 unauthorised sessions in a 10-week period, we will initiate intervention with the Local Authority. This includes holidays in term time.
We liaise regularly with the Local Authority’s Access and Inclusion Officer for attendance in order to identify children who are vulnerable in terms of their attendance, and to support such children in improving their attendance.
Legal and financial sanctions may apply if a child’s attendance continues to be a concern, including:
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Fixed Penalty Notices (£160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days) per child, per parent. Failure to pay within 28 days can result in prosecution. This is increased to £160 on the second offence, per child, per parent or instant decision to settle in court.
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Prosecution in court, which could result in further fines or imprisonment
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Education Supervision Orders, with a fine of up to £2500 for non-compliance per parent.
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Criminal record for each parent that will impact on future Disclosure and barring service possibly impacting on employment.
The Local Authority and its Access and Inclusion Officer also has an enforcing role in relation to school attendance. Any action taken, is always with the welfare of children as the first and paramount consideration.
If all avenues of support have been facilitated by the school, local authorities and other partners, and the appropriate educational support or placement have been provided but severe absence for unauthorised absences continues, it is likely to constitute neglect, and this will be subject to safeguarding issues. School staff have a right to safeguard children which includes low attendance that link closely to submission of referrals to the Cumbria Safeguarding hub.
Punctuality
Punctuality is a key aspect of self-discipline and time management. Children should arrive at school by 8:43 am. The morning register will open at 8.52am and will close at 9:22 am. Any child who arrives after this time will receive an unauthorised absence.
Persistent lateness will result in escalation to after-school detention. If a child is late, they must check in at the school office to sign in.
Contact Details
If you have any concerns or questions regarding your child’s attendance, please don’t hesitate to contact:
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Mrs. Eldon – Head of Year 7
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Mr. Adams – Head of Year 8 and 10
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Miss Morton – Head of Year 9
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Mr. Fillingham – Head of Year 11
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Mrs. Cherie Jameson – Attendance Lead, 01900 873290
We are here to support you and your child in maintaining excellent attendance.
