Attendance
Our expectation is that all of our students are in school on time, all of the time. There is a wealth of evidence that shows that students who have excellent attendance are more likely to make excellent progress and form better relationships with their peers.
Student Absence
Reporting a Student Absence
Being on time to school is extremely important and will be rewarded. If a student is late, a break time detention will be given so that they can make up the time. If a student is late to school for reasons beyond their own control, this is taken into consideration.
If a student is absent from school, their parent/carer must phone the school on the first day and every other day that the student is off school.
Absences are reported by phoning the school on: 01225 423 583 and selecting option 1.
If you do not call the school, you will receive a call or text message from the attendance team to check the child’s whereabouts. We do this to prevent unauthorised absences and to safeguard our students. We need to know if a child is expected in school but hasn’t arrived.
Requests for Leave of Absence
Parents/carers should not take family holidays in term time. The school is not able to authorise such absence on the grounds of cost or convenience. If requests for leave of absence have to be made for other reasons, then they should be made in writing to the Assistant Headteacher responsible for attendance, Mr Tennant. Further information regarding this can be found in the school Attendance Policy.
Medical Appointments
Students need to sign in/out at main reception if they are late for school or if they are leaving school during the day, either for a medical appointment or other reasons. We would appreciate medical and dental appointments not being made during the school day wherever possible. However, we understand that this is not always possible. Afternoon appointments are best because students are likely to miss less of the school day. As a school we only authorise a maximum of half a day for a single medical appointment; there are exceptions to this, for example if a student is having specialist medical treatment. Please ensure you report the absence to the school with as much notice as possible.
Attendance Support from School
As a school we are committed to doing as much as we can to support your child. This includes supporting them to attend school. Our approach includes rewarding students who have excellent attendance as well as supporting those who might be struggling to attend school regularly.
All staff in the school have a responsibility to support attendance and some of the key staff in school who support your child are outlined below.
Tutor
The tutor is the member of staff your child will see the most often in school. All students start their school day with a twenty-minute tutor session. The tutor is the first point of contact for parents if you have any concerns or would like to report anything that might have an impact on your child’s attendance at school. .
If we have any concerns regarding your child’s attendance at school, the tutor will usually be the first person to make contact home. This is to check in if there is anything we can do as a school to support.
To get in touch with your child’s tutor email enquires@oldfieldschool.com and it will be forwarded to the correct member of staff.
Head of Year and Assistant Head of Year
Heads of Year and Assistant Heads of Year can support your child attending school if circumstances require a more individualised approach. The Heads of Year and Assistant Heads of Year work closely with other teams in the school such as the SEND team and attendance team to put plans in place to help improve student attendance.
Heads of Year can be contacted by emailing enquiries@oldfieldschool.com and inserting FAO the appropriate head of year in the Subject Line.
| Role | Name |
| Head of Year 7 | Mrs Macnaughton |
| Head of Year 8 | Mr Oldham |
| Head of Year 9 | Mr Sargent |
| Head of Year 10 | Mrs Wills |
| Head of Year 11 | Mr Dorman |
| KS3 Assistant Head of Year | Mrs Garbutt |
| KS4 Assistant Head of Year | Mrs Perry |
| KS4 Assistant Head of Year | Mrs Daniel |
Attendance Team
The Attendance Team at the school can offer tailored support plans for students who are finding it difficult coming into school. This could be due to persistent medical conditions or emotional based school avoidance. The objective of the Attendance Team is to work with the families of young people to support them getting into school more often.
To contact the Attendance Team, please email attendance@oldfieldschool.com and insert FAO the appropriate member of staff below:
Stacey Colllings – Education Welfare Officer for Y7, Y8 & Y9
Gemma Green – Education Welfare Officer for Y 10 & 11
Sherilyn Green – Attendance Admin
Supporting Your Child Attending School
Some things parents can do to help their child have good attendance at school:
- Have high expectations for them; our shared aim is for all students to attend school 100% of the time
- Contact the tutor if you have any concerns
- Make a plan with your child that enables them to get to school on time every day
- Communicate any concerns or issues with the school so that there is a joined-up approach between family and school to support your child
- Take an interest in your child’s education; have a look at the work in their books, help them keep on top of homework and attend parents’ evenings
Sometimes students struggle to attend school for reasons associated with mental health, such as anxiety; this is known as emotional based school avoidance (EBSA). EBSA is commonly associated with emotional or physical distress which results in a young person being reluctant to attend school. This can lead to further anxiety around attending school because of missed work or poor relationships with peers.
If you are worried about your child showing signs of EBSA, please contact the school. The earlier we are able to put a support plan in place, the more likely it will be to have a positive impact on attendance.
Further information about EBSA can be found in the useful links section below.
Useful Links – Information on Supporting Attendance
Gov.uk – The importance of attendance
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/18/school-attendance-important-risks-missing-day
Gov.uk – How to support my child’s attendance
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/03/improving-school-attendance
Somerset Council Support Services – What is emotional based school avoidance and how to support my child
https://www.supportservicesforeducation.co.uk/Page/19956
Children’s Commissioner – Resources for Families
https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/back-into-school/resources-for-families