Attendance
At The Highfield School we believe that attending every day is essential.
When students attend school every day they are able to maximise their progress, enhance their social skills and extend their life choices. By attending regularly and being punctual students create a healthy routine that sets them up for life in terms of further education and future employment. Every week we reflect on attendance and celebrate students' dedication to school during form time. We also report back to parents/carers through progress reports each term which show your child's annual attendance up to that point in the year. We aim for every child to have an overall attendance of no lower than 95% as we know that this ambition will positively affect them, the school environment and of course we want to see our students every day!
Attendance Matters:
| = number of days absent | Approximate number of weeks | = number of lessons missed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90% | 19 days | 4 weeks | 95 lessons |
| 85% | 29 days | 6 weeks | 145 lessons |
| 80% | 38 days | 8 weeks | 190 lessons |
90% attendance and below is equal to missing 19 days of school per year, which is five months of school over five years and research shows this will cause a drop in results of one GCSE grade
If you are having issues getting your child to school please contact the attendance team on the following number: 01462 705104
Attendance policy (Scholars' Education Trust policies)
Statutory attendance - Helping parents understand penalty notice fines for school attendance
You can view your child’s attendance on MyChildAtSchool.
Attendance letters will be sent through MyChildAtSchool if there is an attendance concern.
If you are having issues getting your child to school please contact us and select the Attendance option for advice and support.
You may find the following websites useful:
https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/
https://www.familylives.org.uk/
https://www.healthforkids.co.uk/
https://www.healthforteens.co.uk/
https://www.kooth.com/
https://www.selfharm.co.uk/
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
Reporting your child as absent
If your child is unwell or unable to attend school, please record the absence via MyChildAtSchool by 8.25am on each day of absence.
If your child has a medical or other appointment that requires time off school, please also record this via MyChildAtSchool.
If your query is urgent please the absence team:
Telephone: 01462 620 500 (select option 1)
Email: absence@highfield.herts.sch.uk
Thank you for ensuring that all absences are reported by 8.25am on each day of your child’s absence.
Punctuality
We ask all our students to be punctual at the start of school each day and also attend their lessons on time to ensure that they are safe and so that they do not miss any learning or important socialising time. The school day starts with form time at 8.25am and all students should be inside the school gate by 8.20am, any student who arrives after 8.20am will be marked as late and given a C10. The register closes officially 30 mins after this time and so any student arriving after 8.55am will be registered as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.
The afternoon registration session is at 12.10pm, which is also the beginning of lesson four. So there are two registration sessions in one day each making up 50% of your child's overall attendance. Therefore they must attend both registrations in one day to achieve full attendance for that day.
We would recommend supporting your child to arrive at school around 8.15am if you can, giving them plenty of time to get to form time.
Free breakfast for all students is served in the canteen every day from 7.50am including toast, jam, crumpets, cheese on toast and bagels. A great way to settle in for the day!
Attendance Video
