West Derby School
All members of staff at West Derby School understands the importance of attending school and being punctual every day as these are two vital skills needed in life. We are committed to ensuring pupils have access to the opportunities to develop a skill set to be successful and compete with their peers. We believe that good attendance and being punctual is the most important aspect for pupils and vital to achieve academic success.
At West Derby school we believe that pupils are safe when they attend school and regular attendance allows pupils:
· To fully access a broad and balanced curriculum (Curriculum Overview)
· To build positive relationships with staff and peers.
· To develop a range of life skills
· To take advantage of the career pathways in place and of the personalised support packages the school has to offer. (Careers Information)
All students will have the target of 100% attendance with the expectation that they will achieve no less than 97%.
In previous years at West Derby School statistics have shown at KS4, that there have been more than double the number of grades 9-4 achieved by students who have above 97% attendance than those with attendance less than 90%. No student with attendance less than 90% obtained a grade 9, with only 6% of grade 8’s, 2% of grade 7 and 5% of grade 6 achieved by this cohort.
We understand that students may have to take time off school for illness but kindly ask that Parents/Carers encourage regular attendance and minimising avoidable absences, and do not allow their child off with minor sickness/illnesses such as headaches, coughs, colds etc that do not significantly impact their ability to participate in learning.
To report an absence, we require communication from a parent/guardian on each day of absence via correspondence through the school app, email or telephone call with voicemail facilities, before the start of the school day or at the earliest opportunity. If an absence is not reported, you will receive a daily absence alert and a member of the attendance team will be in touch to ensure accurate recording of the absence and adhering to our statutory safeguarding responsibilities.
The most effective way to report an absence is via the school app Arbor. For guidance on how to report an absence via Arbor please see the information on the link below:
Logging absences on the Parent Portal and Arbor App – Arbor Help Centre (arbor-education.com)
Punctuality:
Being 15 minutes late each day is the same as missing two weeks of school over the year. The start of the school day is a valuable time for pupils to develop their social skills with their peers, as well as preparing them for their learning.
We expect our pupils to be on site at 8.45am every day.
Pupils who arrive after 8.45am in the morning will be marked late. Any pupil who arrives late to school 3 times will be issued a 45-minute PPL detention.
The registers will remain open until 9:15am. Any pupil arriving after this time will be marked as having a ‘U’ mark – this is recorded as an unauthorised absence unless an explanation given is accepted as grounds for authorising the late arrival. Accumulation of U codes has a direct impact on attendance and may lead to penalty notices in accordance with the guidance set by the Local Authority.
Please find below information from the Local Authority.
School attendance, behaviour and welfare - Liverpool City Council
The impact of school absence on lifetime earnings
The link between attendance and attainment in an assessment year
For further information regarding attendance, see below:
School attendance, behaviour and welfare – Liverpool City Council
Working together to improve school attendance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)