Attendance and Punctuality

Here at Oakwood High School, we believe that regular attendance is fundamental to effective teaching and learning. Students will not learn if they aren’t in school. Students cannot reach their full potential unless they attend regularly and are fully engaged in the educational opportunities provided.

There is a clear link between good attendance/punctuality and educational achievement. We are committed to maximising the achievements of all students. Regular attendance and punctuality are vital if students are to benefit fully from the academic, personal and social opportunities, which are offered to them within the school.

Parents/Carers play an important role in supporting the school, and we actively seek to foster positive relationships with all parents/carers, allowing us to work together to support your children in achieving excellent attendance to school.

Oakwood High School recognises that barriers to attendance can be varied and complex and that some students face greater challenges than others in attending school consistently. And so, we are committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment, and to building strong, trusting relationships with students and their families to help overcome these challenges.

Oakwood’s Attendance Team

The senior Attendance Champion is Ms D Tank (Assistant Headteacher/DSL)

The school’s key attendance staff are:-

Miss H Evans (Lead Attendance Officer)

Mrs T Houghton (Deputy Attendance Manager)

Mrs H Fussey (Attendance/Lead First Aid Administrator)

Miss L Godwin (Student Services Administrator and First Aid)

The Trust Strategic Attendance Lead is Ms K Riordan.

Start and Finish Times

School is open to students from 8am, students can access a free breakfast (cereal and bagels) in the canteen from this time.

The school day starts at 8.35am and students are expected to be in their classroom, ready to begin lessons by 8.40am. Students, therefore, are expected to be on the school site by 8.30am so as to avoid any punctuality issues.

The morning register closes at 9:40 am. Any student arriving after this time will receive an Unauthorised absence (U code), which will impact negatively on their attendance record. School finishes at 3.10pm for all year groups.

Absence Procedures

Parents/carers are required to contact the school office by telephone (01709 539811) or email (attendance@oakwood.ac) before 9:00 am on each day of their child’s absence. They should provide a reason for the absence and an estimated duration, e.g. one school day.

If a student is absent and no contact has been made by 9.40am, the Attendance Team will contact the parent/carer via G4S text message and email. Parents/Carers must respond directly to either message. The reason for the absence must be stated.

If no response is received, the Attendance Team will follow up with a phone call.

Please be aware that where there is still no contact, a home visit may be carried out on the same day, to complete a safe and wellbeing check.

As part of the school’s safeguarding procedures, a home visit will be carried out on the third consecutive day of any unexplained absence, if no communication has been received.

We appreciate that children are unwell from time to time and that there can be exceptional circumstances for absences, but we ask that where an illness can be managed in school that you endeavour to commit to maintaining positive attendance to school and send your child to school to ensure no learning is missed.

Please Click on the link below for further information.

Medical Appointments

Please try to make any medical/dental appointments for outside of school hours, or during the school holidays. If a medical appointment is unavoidable during the school day, please ensure the school is notified in advance. The Attendance Team will then make a note on the register so the class teacher is aware and can allow the student to leave promptly. However, it is the student’s responsibility to remember the time of their appointment and to sign out at the Attendance Office before leaving. School staff do not collect students from lessons for appointments.

Punctuality

Lateness to school is taken very seriously. If a student is late to school, the following will take place:

A message will be sent to parents/carers informing them of a 20-minute detention at the end of that particular school day
This event will be logged as -2 points “Late to school” on Go4Schools.
If a student fails to attend, this will be logged as -4 points “Detention issue” and the detention is set for 30 minutes on the next school day.
If a student fails to attend the 30-minute detention, they are given an additional -4 “Detention issue” log and a 40-minute detention is given, with the Assistant Headteacher.
Failing to attend this sanction will be a day on internal suspension.

Attendance Incentives

At Oakwood, we believe that getting it right, each and every day, should be rewarded and full attendance is key to success, which is why we have developed a comprehensive incentive programme for students and their families. Amongst other rewards and incentives, we celebrate our highest achievers and most improved students with postcards and certificates.

Our dedicated Tutors champion good attendance by discussing attendance regularly in tutor time, awarding weekly achievement points for perfect attendance. Heads of House also celebrate attendance success through assemblies, where trophies are proudly handed out to the top tutor groups.

Plus, our regular raffles offer exciting prizes, including dinner queue passes, free canteen treats and popular vouchers, ensuring our outstanding and most improved students are recognised. For those who demonstrate exceptional commitment, Lifetime Attendance rewards await any student who achieves 100% attendance throughout their entire five years at Oakwood.

Why is good attendance important?

To avoid gaps in learning.
To help achieve good exam results.
To help with getting to sixth form college, an apprenticeship and university.
To help achieve career aspirations.
To develop social skills and form positive friendships.
To prevent enforcement action.

What can I do to improve my child’s attendance?

We know that being a parents/carer can be hard. We understand how tough it can be. Please contact us if you need some help or support.

There are some of the things that you can do to ensure that your child achieves and maintains good attendance and punctuality:

Have an evening and morning routine, which allows a minimum of 8 hours sleep.
Limit digital technology use e.g. gaming, social media, apps etc. and finish at least one hour before bed.
Allow enough time in the morning for your child to get ready, have breakfast, travel to school and arrive on time
Have their own alarm clock.
Get a reliable friend to call for them in the morning.
Get their equipment and bag ready the night before.
Have a regular study time each evening.
Make sure that they do not wait for friends in the morning before school
Learn bus timetables in advance

What is a ‘Persistently Absent (PA) student?

Your child becomes a ‘persistently absent’ student whenever attendance falls below 90%.
As a school we monitor attendance very closely. If your child’s attendance drops below 92%, they will be monitored and a range of attendance interventions will be put into place. These may include: a family assessment of need support plan, which helps identify concerns and strengths within a family, especially when extra support is needed.
From September 2024, we have had to report to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) for consideration of a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) – which is a costly fine. Where a student misses 10 sessions (10 half days or 5 full days) of unauthorised absence in any 10-school week period. The threshold can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence, e.g. 4 sessions in term time plus 6 instances of arriving late.

Leave of absence during term time?

Please be aware that the Headteacher will not grant any leave of absence during term time. As set by RMBC , if a parent/carer decides to take a holiday in term time for 5 or more days, a FPN will be considered, and each parent/carer will be required to pay £80 for each child removed from school. This will need to be paid within 21 days and, if not paid within this time, the charge will rise to £160 per parent/carer per child and must be paid within 28 days to avoid potential prosecution. An escalation process for repeat offences will be followed.

Work with us, to help you, to help your child.