Attendance
At Wade Deacon High School we expect high levels of attendance and punctuality from all of our pupils. We believe that regular attendance promotes positive social development, develops self discipline and improves pupil progress. There is a clear link between attendance and attainment and as a school we expect all pupils to aim to achieve at least 97% attendance. Outstanding attendance is regularly recognised and rewarded throughout the year.
Poor attendance can have a detrimental effect on progress. A student who has 90% attendance misses almost 4 weeks of the school year, which equates to over 100 hours of learning. The graph below clearly demonstrates the link between absence and attainment for our students in 2022 GCSE exams.
Reporting Student Absence
If your child is absent, you are requested to;
Contact the school on the first morning of your child’s absence by 9.00am stating your child’s full name, registration group and an explanation for their absence. You should continue to contact the school on each day that the absence continues. The preferred method of contact is to report your child's absence via School Synergy. Alternatively please use one of the methods below:
Telephone: 0151 423 2721
E-Mail: absence@wadedeacon.co.uk
Your child’s absences that are attributed to illness will not be authorised unless you provide medical verification; this must be forwarded to the relevant Personal Tutor. Medical verification can take the form of an appointment card/letter, counterfoil of a prescription, medication packaging/photocopy of medication packaging, or communication in writing from your medical professional. All evidence must be dated by the relevant medical establishment.
Medical Appointments
All notification of medical appointments should be in writing prior to the appointment date with the card or appointment letter attached. If medical appointments fall in the school days, students should attend school prior to the appointment, as well as returning to school after their appointment to ensure they get their morning and afternoon mark.
Compulsory Catch Up
To support pupil progress, pupils who have missed curriculum time will be required to complete Compulsory Catch Up to support their learning and reduce any knowledge gaps. In the event of missing curriculum time, pupils have got until the Friday of the week following their absence to complete any work that was missed, and ensure their teacher has signed it off as complete. It is the responsibility of the pupil to identify and complete any work that has been missed. Pupils must present their catch up sheet to their Progress Leader or Assistant Progress Leader on the Friday of the week following their absence. If all work has not been completed, pupils will be required to stay behind where they will be supported by staff to complete their catch up work.
Leave of Absence During Term Time
The School will not routinely grant permission for leave of absence to be taken in term time and discourage parents/carers making an application for leave except in “special or exceptional circumstances”.
To apply for leave of absence, please print and complete the request form below.
Leave of Absence Request
Please remember support and guidance regarding attendance and punctuality is always available from school. Further information can be found in our attendance booklet, which is available to download below.
Attendance & Leave of Absence Policy
The link between absence and attainment - Click here to download.
