Carr Hill High School has launched a dedicated Drop-In Session for students as part of the school’s ongoing commitment to ensuring everyone receives the support required to gain the most from their education.
The sessions take place during a Monday lunchtime and are provided by the school’s Attendance Team. The sessions are for any pupils who may have attendance issues or worries. Students can discuss anything from struggling to get to school on time to anxieties about coming to school to advice with morning routines, all of which are issues that can impact a pupil’s studies.
The Drop-In Sessions takes place in the College Leaders’ Officer and students are able to speak to Miss Kendall, the Pastoral Inclusion Mentor, or Miss Stirzaker, the Attendance Officer. If students feel they need to speak to someone more urgently they can also come during break or lunchtime on any day of the week.
The launch of this service is part of a long term programme designed to ensure attendance levels at Carr Hill High School remain high. Attendance is a key priority as it is directly related to the success of a student’s education.
If a student has an attendance percentage of less than 90 per cent, is reluctant to attend school or persistently late, parents and students may be referred to Miss Kendall. Miss Kendall said: “A key part of my role is to help to resolve the issues that are affecting a student’s attendance. It is better to speak to the school early to resolve the issue.”
Miss Stirzaker and I want to encourage parents and carers to regularly check their child’s attendance percentage which can easily be done on Moodle via the school’s website. The minimum target attendance at Carr Hill is 95% and we encourage all pupils to achieve this target.”
Miss Stirzaker, who parents or carers will speak to when reporting an absence, said: “We appreciate that understanding attendance percentage can be quite confusing. If your child has received 90% in a test, exam or controlled assessment this would be the equivalent of receiving an A* at GCSE. – an outstanding result. However, if a child has 90% attendance this is below the acceptable level for the school. It means that they have missed half a day (or one session) of school each week.
“If your child consistently has 90% attendance throughout a school year they would have missed four weeks of school, by July. If their attendance percentage is 90% throughout their five years (Year 7 through to Year 11) of education it would mean that they have missed twenty weeks’ worth of their education, over a full term.”
The school day is broken down into two sessions: the morning session and afternoon session so two sessions equal one school day. A student’s attendance percentage is calculated using these sessions.
If a student has 10 or more unauthorised sessions of absence per half term parents may receive a sanction such as a Fixed Penalty Notice. More about Fixed Penalty Notices can be found on the Lancashire County Council website.
The Attendance Team want to stress that if a parent or carer need to report a student absent they must call the Attendance Line on 01772 689011. They must call the Attendance Line for each day of the student’s absence.
Miss Stirzaker said: “Punctuality is something else which can really impact a child’s education, which is why we are offering support for students who may be struggling to get to school on time as part of the new Drop-In Session. The school day starts at 8.55am and if, for example, a student is 10 minutes late everyday throughout the academic year, it is the same as missing two weeks of school.
“At 9.30am the registers are closed and in accordance with regulations, if a student arrives after that time they will receive a mark that shows them to be on site, but this will not count as a present mark and it will mean they have an unauthorised absence.”
In addition to attendance and punctuality the school also receives a substantial amount of requests for leave in term time. Miss Kendall said: “We would like to remind parents and carers that there is no automatic entitlement in law to time off in school time to go on holiday.
“It is important that parents and carers understand that leave in term time will not be agreed by the school at any time unless circumstances surrounding the request can be evidenced by parents/carers to be exceptional. Any period of leave taken without the agreement of the school, or in excess of the agreed, will be classed as unauthorised and may attract sanctions such as a Fixed Penalty Notice.”
Miss Stirzaker and Miss Kendall hope that the new Drop-In Session alongside the information within the article will help us to help students and parents to continue to ensure everyone is gaining the most from their time at Carr Hill Hill School.
If parents or carers have any questions at all they shouldn’t hesitate to contact the school directly.
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