Attendance
Harris Academy Sutton regards attendance as the key factor in supporting students to maximise their potential. We believe that all students are only able to achieve their potential if they attend school punctually and avoid missing lessons. We therefore encourage students to achieve 100% attendance and punctuality. Individual student records prove that this is achievable. Punctuality to school is crucial in creating a calm and purposeful atmosphere and students who are persistently late often disrupt their own and others’ learning.
A student’s progress is severely hampered if they do not regularly attend school. To illustrate:
- 90% attendance is an average of one day out of school per fortnight over a school year.
- 90% attendance over 5 years at secondary school is half a school year missed.
- 80% attendance over 5 years at secondary school is the same as one whole school year missed.
Studies shows that a student with 90% attendance will on average achieve two grades lower in each subject at GCSE when compared with their counterparts who have 100% attendance. This continues with every further 10% missed.
Harris Academy Sutton Attendance Definitions | |
| 98-100% | Expected |
| 95-97% | Satisfactory |
| Below 95% but above 90% | A cause for concern |
| Below 90% | A serious cause for concern. Classed as Persistently Absent. Educational Welfare Officer involvement. |
If your child’s attendance falls below 95% please expect to be contacted by your child’s Form Tutor, Head of Year and/or members of our Attendance Team. If attendance continues to fall and goes below 90% our Education Welfare Officer (EWO) will become involved, also in a supportive capacity, which will involve meetings in school with clear targets being set. If there continues to be no improvement then legal proceedings are a possibility. As an Academy we want to work collaboratively with all parents and carers to ensure that all students have the best attendance possible and thrive.