Attendance
At The Stonehenge School we believe there is no limit to any student’s potential but recognise that this can only be achieved by excellent attendance. Attending school every day is essential to ensuring your son/daughter is to make the most of their ability and does well at school.
Research from the Department for Education found that for secondary school students with full attendance, they were 2.2 times more likely to achieve 5 GCSE grades 9-4 than those who missed 15-20% of school.
Attendance is recorded as a percentage of how much time a student has attended school. Every session they are absent whether it is an illness, a medical appointment or an authorised/unauthorised absence has a detrimental effect on their overall attendance percentage.
We monitor attendance closely and strive to work with our students, parents/carers and our Education Welfare Officer to ensure that excellent attendance is maintained.
How to report your child’s absence
Parents/Carers are able to report a child’s absences in one of the following ways –
- By logging on to ClassCharts
- By calling the Absence Line on 01980 676650 (available 24hrs a day)
- By email absence@stonehenge.wilts.sch.uk
We ask Parents/Carers to contact the school as early as possible on every day of absence and leave a message.
Medical Appointments
We understand that occasionally doctors and dentist appointments may have to be arranged during school time. All students arriving or leaving school outside normal registration times should sign in or out at Reception.
Please contact us in advance of your child’s appointment to make us aware, this can be via the Absence Line, ClassCharts or by email. If you receive an appointment letter we would appreciate a copy of this for your child’s records.
Students will NOT be let out of school if we have not received parental/carer contact in advance.
Punctuality
The school day begins at 8.30am and all students are expected to be in school, in their tutor rooms by this time for registration. Once the register is called, it is closed and students arriving after this time are automatically late and must sign in at Reception.
Students who are repeatedly late to school are not only disrupting their own education but that of others and are not maximising their learning opportunities.
Holidays in School Time
The Department for Education does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be exceptional
Examples of circumstances NOT considered as Exceptional:
• Holidays taken in term time, or any event that can be scheduled outside of term time
• Absences to visit family members if they could be scheduled for holiday periods or outside school hours.
• Holidays abroad for the purpose of visiting a sick relative or attending a wedding, excepting where that person is seriously ill. Medical evidence may be requested.
• Absence will not be authorised for reasons such as: To care for other family members; Birthdays; No school uniform/shoes; Bullying; Friendship problems; Family Anniversaries; Death of a pet; Travel problems; School refusal
Leave of Absence requests
Please ensure that you read the Guidance on Authorised absences before completing a request. It contains information about the types of absence that the Department for Education regards as being acceptable, and also explains which types of requests will not be approved.
Guidance on Authorised Absence at Stonehenge 2024
Leave of Absence Request Form 2024
Parent Leaflet Penalty Notices for Absence from School July 2024 A4