Attendance

At The Westleigh School we place great emphasis upon excellent attendance. To be successful at school, and take advantage of all the amazing opportunities that Westleigh school can offer your child, they should aim to attend school for 100% of the time, and arrive on time to school and lessons, every single day.

We fully appreciate how difficult it can be to assess if your child is well enough for school, however we have an on-site Medical Officer and caring Pastoral Team for each Year Group, who will ensure your child is cared for, even if they are feeling under the weather.  In order to support your child in attending 100% of the time, and reaching their full potential at school, we request that, whenever possible, medical appointments are made for out of school time. Appointments made during term time will not only impact on your child’s attendance, it will also hinder their progress, and ability to feel part of the Westleigh family.

 

Attendance

 

School day

The School Day starts at 8:30am by which time your child should be safely on site and in registration with their Form Tutor.  We recommend your child arrives before 8:30am.  The school gates are opened and our staff are on duty to welcome your child, from 8:10am every morning.  During registration your child will receive key messages, rewards and support that will ensure they are fully aware of everything that is happening in school each day, enabling them to feel part of the whole school community.
Click here to see the times of the school day.

 

Absence procedure

In the event that your child is unable to attend school for any reason, contact must be made with Student Reception before 9am.  The School telephone number is 01942 202580.  For each recurring day of absence, you should continue to contact school to inform us that the absence is continuing and give the reason.  The Attendance Officer may request medical evidence for continued absence in order to authorise the absence.  If you do not contact school to explain the reason for absence, your child will be marked as unauthorised absence.

We support all students and families to achieve the highest levels of attendance and success.  We understand how important it is to all parents and carers, that their child enjoys, and succeeds at school.  Should attendance levels become a concern, monitoring will be put in place, medical evidence will be requested for all absences and in some cases, a home visit will be made by the Attendance Officer and / or a member of the Pastoral Team.

 

Holiday requests

By law, you are legally responsible for ensuring your child receives full time education, and government legislation states that schools are unable to authorise any term time holidays as outlined below. 

Parents can be fined for taking their child on holiday during term time without consent from the school. There will be gaps in your child’s learning and education, that will impact upon their progress in the long term, making it difficult for them to catch up on work when they return.

The school closes for 70 days during the year, providing plenty of opportunities for holidays to be taken when it has the least impact upon your child’s education.  Any parent wanting to take a holiday during term time should apply in writing to the Headteacher, Mr Bramwell.  Each application will be considered on an individual basis and you will be informed by letter, of the outcome.  However, we should inform you that it is highly unusual for leave of absence to be granted for holidays during term time.  Any holiday or leave from school, taken without the headteacher’s permission, will be unauthorized and legal action may be sought from the Local Authority.

 

Persistent absence

Absence that continues despite the intervention and support of school, is classed as Persistent Absence.
This includes any child who:

• Has had 3 days absence (6 sessions) in a 30-day period.
• Has an attendance rate below 91%.

Where Persistent Absence occurs, you will be asked to attend a meeting with the Attendance Officer to seek ways to support and develop better attendance routines.  Ongoing Persistent Absence could also lead to legal action from the Local Authority.
 

Be A Westleigh HERO!

Here Everyday Ready Ontime