At Buckler’s Mead Academy, from the first day of term to the last, the small moments in a school day make a real difference to your child.
Your child’s attendance is extremely important, and we all have a part to play in improving it. To help tackle this challenge the Government has launched a national campaign, aimed at making sure parents and carers know how important school attendance is.
“As Children’s Commissioner, I have made school attendance one of my top priorities because children tell me how much they value their education and want to be in school. Every day counts: when children miss school, it’s not just about missing lessons, it’s also about losing valuable moments spent with their friends and teachers.”
Rachel De Souza, Children’s Commissioner
Our Vision
At Buckler’s Mead, we aim to ensure both students and parents / carers have the tools, resources and support they need to help improve attendance for all. Our goal is to create a nurturing and affirmative partnership between parents and school, where everyone understands the role attendance has in enhancing their child’s overall wellbeing.
Our ultimate goal is to help all of our students to achieve 100% attendance.
There is national evidence that shows the direct link between good attendance and achievement in schools. When we talk about good attendance, it is important to note that this is considered to be above 97%.
The government considers students whose attendance drops to 90% or below to be persistently absent from school. 90% might well be a great mark for an assessment, but an attendance of 90% in reality means….
On average, half a day of school is missed every week! An employer would not think that this is an acceptable rate of attendance.
Over an academic year, 4 weeks of schooling (100 lessons) have been missed.
Over 5 years at Buckler’s Mead Academy, half a year of school (500 lessons) have been missed
Recent national statistics show that 36% of persistently absent children in KS4 got 9 to 4 in their English and Maths GCSEs, compared with 84% of regular attenders. Although good attendance is important in all years, it is never too late to improve attendance. More than half (54%) of pupils who were persistently absent in Year 10 and then rarely absent in Year 11, passed at least 5 GCSEs.
At Buckler’s Mead, in last year’s GCSEs the average grade of persistently absent children in Year 11 was over a grade lower (3.97) than those with good attendance (5.28).
It is important to also recognise that good attendance isn’t only about grades, it’s about every moment in a school day; developing social skills, finding a sense of belonging at Buckler’s Mead or joining in with extracurricular activities and trips. All of these can improve the overall wellbeing of your child. Multiple studies have shown that regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing.
Reinforce the importance of attending school every day, reiterating the long term impact of low attendance and the importance of building good habits for the future.
Ensure your child has an established bedtime routine, which ensures a good night's sleep - this may involve handing over their mobile phone at a set time!
Make sure your child sets an alarm to wake them up with enough time to prepare for the day and be on time to Buckler’s Mead.
If you bring your child to school by car, remember that traffic around the town can be changeable (particularly on wet days) and factor this into the time you leave.
Encourage your child to come to school if they have a minor ailment, just like you would still go to your work. If you are unsure, please send them to school - we will contact you if they are too unwell to stay.
Arrange any appointments your child may have outside of school hours.
Encourage them to participate in extracurricular activities where they can.
Discuss any issues your child may have that might be affecting their attendance and share this information with the Pastoral Coordinator, who will be happy to support.
Provide weekly feedback to all students on their current attendance.
Celebrate those students who have 97% or above attendance in reward assemblies. Text or call home to check on the wellbeing of absent students.
Provide a nurturing space for students to get help in overcoming any barriers they have to attending school.
Provide a dedicated Pastoral Coordinator for every year group to work with students and parents / carers on their attendance.
Set out a robust set of attendance procedures to ensure all absences and requests for absence are dealt with fairly and consistently. Click the link above to see these procedures.