Attendance & punctuality
"When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating."
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"When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances for graduating."
“Since autumn 2024, leaders have astutely identified and prioritised actions for improvement. Their carefully considered plans and approaches have had a marked positive impact on pupils’ academic education, behaviour and attendance.”
Good attendance is key to success at Lift Aylward; our Attendance Team and Directors of Learning work closely with parents and carers in line with our attendance policy to support good attendance and punctuality for all students. We use an automated system that will send parents/carers a text message if your child is absent when they shouldn't be.
What should I do if my child is absent from the Academy?
Phone the student absences line on 020 8803 1738
or
Send an e-mail to attendance@liftaylward.org
Is my child too ill for school?
This NHS guide includes a link to UK Government Guidelines to support parents and carers
Focus on Attendance and Punctuality
Research by the Department for Education demonstrates that attendance and punctuality play a vital role in a student’s progress and are crucial factors in students achieving their full potential in education. At Lift Aylward we wish to work in partnership with parents and carers and so are seeking your full support in ensuring that your child attends the Academy every day and on time. We are always pleased to work together with parents/carers in resolving any difficulties but we are also committed to improving attendance levels at the Academy.
At Lift Aylward individual attendance levels are monitored throughout the academic year, and regularly communicated to students, parents and staff. We provide this information in order to support families to improve attendance rates, and to illustrate how attendance can impact the future of our students.
A significant proportion of our students have an attendance rate of around 90%. Many believe this to be acceptable, but what does it really mean for our students?
What does an attendance rate of 90% look like?
• A student with a 90% attendance record is absent from lessons for the equivalent of one half-day every week.
• A student with a 90% attendance rate misses the equivalent of four whole weeks of lessons in one school year.
• A student with 90% attendance throughout KS3 and KS4 (5 years) misses the equivalent of about one half of a school year.
Attendance and Achievement
Research proves that there is a direct link between a student’s attendance levels and their academic achievement. A study by The Department for Education shows that attendance is likely to affect GCSE outcomes in the following way:
• 78.7% of students who do not miss any weeks of school in Key Stage 4 are likely to achieve 5+ A*-Cs (9-4) including English and Mathematics
• However, the percentage drops to 52% if they miss between 4-5 weeks
• An improvement in attendance by 1%, just two days in an academic year, could result in a 5- 6% improvement in attainment.
The Academy is open to students from 08:00. The school day starts at 08:20 and ends at 15:10. It is the responsibility of parents/carers to ensure that their child arrives punctually for the formal start to the Academy day before 08:20 each day. Students arriving after this time will be considered late, and will be issued with detentions the same day. Please refer to the behaviour policy for details.
Please be aware that the parent or carer is responsible for arranging their child's safe transport from the Academy to home.
The target attendance figure for all pupils is a minimum of 97% attendance. Based on current attendance figures your child will be placed in one of the following groups below:
Your child will be informed of their Attendance Group by their form tutor. Lift Aylward are monitoring students closely whose attendance is falling and will contact you if your child’s attendance does not improve. As a parent/carer you are committing an offence if you fail to ensure that your child attends the Academy regularly and punctually, even if they are missing the Academy without your knowledge. It is important that parents/carers monitor single day’s absence, as these days soon add up to weeks.
At Lift Aylward we reward pupils who attend the Academy each day and whose attendance is improving. Students are also rewarded for good punctuality.
If you are concerned your child's Attendance’ there are important steps that you can take:
Thank you for working in partnership with us to achieve the highest possible levels of attendance and punctuality at Lift Aylward.
ARBOR : Student Communications
Can all parent please ensure they have downloaded our (free) Arbor Parent Portal app to ensure they receive regular and up-to-date communications about their child. We have a selection of step-by-step guides in multiple languages - please click the below :
