Attendance

Focus on Attendance and Punctuality

Research has shown that regular attendance and good punctuality are crucial factors in students achieving their full potential in education. At Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, we wish to work in partnership with parents and carers, and so are seeking your full support in ensuring that your child attends school every day and on time. We are always pleased to work together with parents/carers in resolving any difficulties, but we are also committed to improving attendance levels at school.

The target attendance figure for all pupils is a minimum of 97% attendance. You can read our attendance policy here.

Your child will be informed of their Attendance Group by their form tutor. Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School are monitoring students closely whose attendance is falling and will contact you if your child’s attendance does not improve. As a parent/carer, you are committing an offence if you fail to ensure that your child attends school regularly and punctually, even if they are missing school without your knowledge. It is important that parents/carers monitor a single day’s absence, as these days soon add up to weeks.

At Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, we reward pupils who attend school each day and whose attendance is improving. Students are also rewarded for good punctuality. Students are rewarded each half-term in Celebration Assemblies, as well as receiving merits for excellent attendance.

If you are concerned about this new ‘Focus on Attendance’, there are important steps that you can take:

  • Ensure your child attends every day, on time, equipped and ready to learn. Lesson time begins at 8.50am and students should be at line up for 8.45am, when our school day officially starts. Students arriving after 8.45am may be marked absent and will require an explanatory note, or the absence will remain unauthorised.
  • Ensure the school has up-to-date addresses and telephone numbers. We will contact you if your child is absent and you have not contacted the school. This ensures that the absence is quickly identified.
  • If your child is ill, contact the school each day of absence via StudyBugs and provide an explanatory note on the reason for your child’s absence. Here’s the link: https://studybugs.com/about/parents 
  • If you wish to check your child’s attendance, please contact our Attendance Officer, Karolina English. They will inform you if your child has been registered.
  • If no contact is received regarding the absence, it is recorded as unauthorised. Ultimately school is responsible for deciding if the absence is acceptable or not. Only a genuine absence will be authorised. You will be asked to provide medical certificates if your child has a poor attendance record.
  • Ensure that medical appointments are made outside of school time. If not possible, please provide evidence of appointment to attendance.cw@romeromac.com
  • Avoid trivial absences such as ‘buying new shoes’. This would not be accepted as a reasonable absence.
  • Holidays should not be taken in school time. Any Leave of Absence can only be agreed by the Head Teacher and only agreed where there are exceptional circumstances.
  • Respond to letters or telephone calls regarding attendance and punctuality.
  • Contact your child’s form tutor if you are experiencing difficulty in getting your child into school.

Thank you for working in partnership with us to achieve the highest possible levels of attendance and punctuality at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School.

HSC – Guidance on Infection Control in Schools