Attendance and Absence

NB: We have a dedicated email address for all Attendance enquiries and absence/medical appointment notifications - attendance@congletonhigh.com

Reporting Absence Due to Illness

If your child is too ill to attend school, please email: attendance@congletonhigh.com (preferably by 8:30am) on the first day and any subsequent day(s) of absence. See below for information on medical appointments and absence requests. Please ensure that you include your child's full name and form details in the email.

If you are unsure whether to send your child to school or not, please refer to the NHS guidance - click here to be redirected.

Attendance Matters

At Congleton High School, we aim to build a working relationship with families to ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to learn.

We believe that, if students are to gain the greatest benefit from their time at school, it is essential that they attend regularly. Many parents/ carers may not realise the effect that absence or lateness has on their children. Any child who misses school runs a serious risk of being left behind in their progress.

We operate a traffic light system to highlight attendance;

Education is important

Students should be at school, on time and ready to learn, every day the school is open, unless the reason for absence is unavoidable. All research shows that students who attend well, achieve well.

It is the expectation of the school that all students will achieve at least 98% attendance. There are a variety of reasons for students missing school. Some are unavoidable but we would ask that you support us in ensuring that your child’s attendance meets both the school and the government’s expectations.

Any problems with regular attendance, especially any concerns about possible bullying or learning difficulties are best sorted out by the school, the parents/ carers and the student at an early stage. We closely monitor your child’s attendance and will contact you if we feel there is an issue. The school undertakes a wide range of measures to support students where attendance at school is an issue. If you have any concerns about your child’s attendance, or wish to speak us regarding any issues, please contact your child’s Form Tutor or Guidance Team Leader and they will be able to help.

Regular attendance at school is the responsibility of parents and carers. Under the 1996 Education Act, parents/ carers commit an offence if their child does not attend school regularly.

If your child cannot come to school because of illness you should advise the school on each morning of absence by telephone or email (see below). If no message is received we will assume that your child is absent without your permission. We will contact you to request information regarding their absence via email and or text. For this reason, it is essential that the school is kept informed of changes of contact details such as phone numbers and addresses. The details we hold for you can be checked or amended by contacting the School Office.

Any absences where a reason is not supplied will be marked as unauthorised. In cases of continuous absence where we receive no communication from you, or the absence is longer than three days, we may make a ‘home visit’ or request our Family Support Worker or the police to undertake a ‘Safe and Well’ visit.

Registration

Registers are marked in the morning between 8:45 and 9:00am and an afternoon register is marked during period 4. It is essential that all students are registered on both occasions. Students should be on site at 8:35am and in their form room ready for the register to be taken at 8:40am. At this time they should collect items for the day and make sure that they are aware of any changes/arrangements to the day’s lessons.

It is a legal requirement that a register is taken at the start of the day. Not only does the process allow us to monitor attendance but also acts as a student checklist in respect of health and safety issues. Students who arrive late for registration will be issued with a lunchtime detention. Calculated over the school year, if your child is five minutes late to school every day, they will have lost the equivalent of three school days. Please note that fines may be issued to parents/ carers whose children are persistently late.

Absence Due to Illness

If you are unsure whether to send your child to school or not, please refer to the NHS guidance - click here to be redirected.

If your child is too ill to attend school, please email us at attendance@congletonhigh.com (preferably by 8:30am) on the first day and any subsequent day(s) of any absence, letting us know how long your child is likely to be away. In cases of prolonged absence, it may be appropriate to arrange for some work to be sent home. Students who have been absent from school must bring a letter from their parent/ carer on their first day back (or an email can be sent by a parent/ carer) explaining the reason for their absence.

Coronavirus

Parents/ carers should notify the school of any positive Covid 19 results and ensure that their child(ren) follows the latest guidance on any period of isolation.

Medical Appointments

Whilst we recognise that it is not always possible, we do encourage parents/ carers to book non-urgent medical and dental appointments outside of the school day or during the holidays. Where this is unavoidable, please email details to: attendance@congletonhigh.com. We request that evidence of the appointment is supplied to our Attendance Officer. Your child can hand this in to Student Reception when they sign out for their appointment or you can hand details to our Receptionist.

Absence Requests

We would like you to think carefully before making any request to take your child out of school.

Students will from time to time miss school because of illness, but their learning is compounded significantly when parents/ carers arrange other reasons for absence. We are aware of the rising cost of family holidays and that this can be greatly reduced if taken during term time. However, we ask you to consider the following points:

Your child’s learning will suffer as a result of extended absence. New topics may have been covered during this time and it may be difficult to recover this lost ground.
Your child may experience socialisation problems after an extended absence, particularly if they have missed key moments, which their friends are talking about.
Students already enjoy 14 weeks away from school during the year; additional absence will not help your child’s progress.

At CHS, we are aware that there will be exceptional circumstances where leave of absence may need to be given. The Headteacher may grant special permission but this must be requested in advance and you should be prepared that some may not be authorised.

If you make the decision to take your child out of school without permission, then the absence does have to be recorded as unauthorised and a Fixed Term Penalty notice may be issued. (See Cheshire East Holiday Fines document below.)

A Fixed Penalty Notice results in:

A cost of £80 per parent/ adult for each student/ child. This will require payment being made to the Local Authority within 21 days.
The cost increases to £160 per parent/ adult for each student/ child if payment is not received within 28 days.
If the penalty is not paid in full by the end of the 28 day period, the Local Authority will instigate Court proceedings and the outcome of the prosecution could be up to £1,000 per parent/adult

If you are requesting an absence due to exceptional circumstances, you will need to complete the Leave of Absence Request Form below and a covering letter will be required, although this will not guarantee authorisation.

Exceptional circumstances do not include family holidays but may include:

Death or funeral of a close relative
When a health professional recommends an absence from school
Attendance at events, exams or performances related to extracurricular activities
Religious observance

Please also refer to our Guide to Attendance and Punctuality, Attendance Policy and Leave of Absence Form in addition to the Cheshire East Holiday Fines information below.