Attendance & Punctuality

Our Attendance Champion is Mrs Taylor

Being in school every day and on time gives you the very best opportunity to succeed. 

At Waterhead, we insist on excellent school attendance and we offer a clear whole school vision for attendance which are underpinned by high expectations linked to our academy core values. We expect good attendance and punctuality from all members of the school community and we make sure that our students understand the importance of this. 

When it comes to attendance, we also make sure staff, pupils and families understand that absence from school is a potential safeguarding risk as well as recognising that good, attendance to school is crucial in preparing young people for successful transition to adulthood and to support further learning opportunities and better job prospects. 

Our key principles are to; 

• Ensure that every child is safe and has their right to education protected which may involve working with external agencies. 
• Ensure we have clear and consistently applied systems and processes to improve, reward and incentivise attendance and address absences. 
• Ensure good attendance and punctuality is regularly promoted and achieved, in line with both targets set by the Trust and national expectations. 

Attendance KS3 Team

Attendance KS4 Team

Moments Matter,  Attendance Counts.
Your child’s Attendance target is 97%+ - no more than 5 days (or 25 lessons) off school per year. 

The Power of Attendance - Full Year

Reporting a absence  

If you are unsure whether you should send your child into school the NHS website - 'Is my child too ill for school' is a useful tool - https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/ 

In cases of absence, parents must inform the Academy using one of the methods above, on the first day of a student’s absence. Parents should still write a note in the planner to the form teacher explaining the student’s absence when they return to the Academy. If the absence is prolonged you may be required to produce a doctor’s note.

Students on Roll 

 September 2024

Leave of Absence in Term-time

Parents are asked not to arrange family holidays or extended visits during term time.  If this is unavoidable then requests should be made to the Principal in advance, before booking the holiday.  Leave of absence request forms are available from Reception.  The Principal is the only person who can give permission for leave of absence during term time. The Education Regulations 2006 make clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Where the Principal decides that authorisation cannot be given but the absence occurs, a Penalty Notice will be issued in line with Oldham Local Authorities Code of Conduct.

Click here to complete the form and send to attendance@waterheadacademy.co.uk 

DFE guidance  Moments matter, Attendance counts

Fines for parents for taking children out of school: What you need to know

Working together to improve school attendance - Gov.uk

Please see the links for some useful information from the recently launched DfE campaign 'Moments Matter, Attendance Counts':

From the first day of term to the last, the small moments in a school day make a real difference to your child. 

Everything you need to know about school attendance - https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/09/02/back-to-school-week-everything-you-need-to-know-about-school-attendance/

Attendance – The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)

If you are unsure whether you should send your child into school the NHS website - 'Is my child too ill for school' is a useful tool - https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

It is never too late to benefit from good attendance.