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Attendance for Learning

In order to get the most from their time at Copleston High School, students must have excellent attendance. Any absence will result in a loss of learning and work will be very hard to catch up on. At Copleston, we work hard to build a feeling of belonging throughout the school and to create an environment that encourages high attendance. Our line-ups and extended tutor time are designed to ensure a calm and ordered start to the day and to provide additional check-in time for students with the person who knows them best. Tutors are often an important point of contact if there are specific worries or concerns that are creating barriers to attendance.

Here are two quotes from the Department for Education* which summarise why attendance is so important:

"Year 11 pupils with near-perfect attendance have almost double the odds of achieving grade 5 in English and Maths GCSE compared to similar pupils attending 90–95% of the time. In other words, missing just 10 extra days is associated with half the odds of achieving these grades."

"Persistently absent pupils in secondary school could earn £10,000 less at age 28 compared to pupils with near-perfect attendance.

For each additional day of absence between Years 7 to 11, the typical pupil could miss out on an average of £750 in future lifetime earnings."

Furthermore, we have seen the impact of good attendance on lesson engagement and students' feeling of belonging within school and we strive to ensure that all students can thrive, both academically and socially.

*Both quotes taken from: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2025/08/why-school-attendance-matters-and-what-were-doing-to-improve-it/

What time is my child expected in school?

The following information is taken from our attendance policy:

What is our preferred approach to attendance at Copleston?

1. EXPECT

Aspire to high standards of attendance from all pupils and parents and build a culture where all can, and want to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising attendance improvement across the school.

2. LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND

When a pattern is spotted, discuss with pupils and parents to listen to understand barriers to attendance and agree how all partners can work together to resolve them.

3. FACILITATE SUPPORT

Remove barriers in school and help pupils and parents to access the support they need to overcome the barriers outside of school. This might include an early help or whole family plan where absence is a symptom of wider issues.

4. FORMALISE SUPPORT

Where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with, partners should work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is also in place to enable families to respond. Depending on the circumstances this may include formalising support through a parenting contract or education supervision order.

5. ENFORCE

Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being engaged with, enforce attendance through statutory intervention or prosecution to protect the pupil’s right to an education

What specific support, encouragement or incentives does the school provide for all students to ensure good attendance?

A daily welcome - we work hard to ensure that all students receive a personal greeting on their arrival at school, with duty staff stationed at all entry points and additional staff on doors and at line-ups. Tutors are also usually available before the line-up bell so that students can ask for help or reassurance if they need it.
Extended tutor time - opportunity for daily check-ins with tutors who will aim to get to know students well so that they can anticipate when additional support might be needed. We encourage students to speak to their tutors as often as we need to and encourage parents to use tutors as the first point of contact for low-level concerns.
Leaders of Learning are always out on duty during social times so that students can ask for support at any time
Pastoral support staff who work with students on a daily basis to help resolve friendship issues, academic concerns etc.
A high-quality tutor time programme with a specific strand to encourage belonging. Students undertake weekly activities designed to build relationships within the form group and to ensure that everybody feels valued.
Weekly Race to 50 competition - see below
Doughnut Fridays! A very popular way to inject some fun into Friday mornings and to celebrate the end of each week, with two students in each form being chosen each week to receive doughnuts, either as a reward or chosen at random.
Extra attendance competitions throughout the year with high value prizes e.g. shopping vouchers
Recognition through certificates and prizes in achievement assemblies and at celebration evenings
Regular updates and recognition in line-ups as to which form/year group are leading in attendance to encourage a team approach to attendance where students encourage one another to be in school
High quality enrichment programme to engage students beyond their lessons - and if students have particular interests which are not represented, they are encouraged to set up their own clubs/groups through our 'I Aspire' programme.
Inspirational wall-art to encourage and promote attendance in different areas of the school and to explain why it is important.

What 'early help' strategies are offered where attendance is, or may become a concern?

Access to our Wellbeing Consultant if required and felt appropriate
Signposting to other professional services where appropriate
Meetings with parents/carers to investigate barriers to learning
Students may be referred to the Connect Unit to provide support with getting back into school.
This could involve providing a soft start to the day, one to one sessions or group sessions.
The aim of the Connect Programme is to reintegrate students back into main school lessons

"RACE TO 50": How is high attendance rewarded at Copleston High School?

Copleston High School recognises the importance of high attendance and students all participate in the weekly "Race to 50" challenge. Students collect points for each full day of attendance and record these on a card. Any students achieving 50 points at the end of each week is entered into a draw to win prizes. Students also enjoy recording their attendance in their Base (tutor time) booklets using shaded blocks, and this enables them and their tutors to aim for 100% or to identify patterns of absence.

There are larger draws throughout the year to reward sustained high attendance and students with high levels of attendance are also recognised at Achievement Assemblies and Celebration Evenings.

Can I take a holiday in term time?

The school now has a policy of not allowing holidays in term time, unless there are exceptional circumstances surrounding a situation. Where an application is made for a holiday, this will be considered by the Principal and will only be authorised in rare exceptional cases.

Under what circumstances might absence be authorised in advance?

Student attendance will only be authorised when proof is provided 24 hours in advance by the student to the sixth form office for the following:

Dentist appointments
Medical appointments/treatment
University Interviews and applicant days (sixth form only)
Driving theory or practical tests (sixth form only). Time off for driving lessons is never permitted apart from immediately prior to a driving test. Where it is possible, we politely request that a student attempts to book all the above outside of lesson times.
Religious Leave of Absence. The school grants the statutory leave of absence of up to two days in order that students can observe important religious festivals. This needs to be confirmed by a parent/carer via the sixth form office

Should I keep my child off school if they are unwell?

Students should be encouraged to be in school and learning whenever possible. All parents and carers have previously been sent guidance as to the types of illness for which it is appropriate to keep a child off school.

The following link provides NHS guidance for a range of common ailments.

Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Where can I get more information on attendance at Copleston High School?

The attendance policy is available for students and parents on the policies page.

Our Attendance Improvement Officer is Mr Shaddick. He is responsible for improving school attendance and works with all agencies and families in an attempt to overcome any barriers that might be stopping pupils attending school. At Copleston as we have a range of support strategies to help with attendance related issues. Mr Shaddick works closely with our dedicated attendance teams and Lols to support students and parents/carers to ensure high levels of attendance.

Where can I find out more about fixed penalty notices?

You can learn more about when these might apply in our attendance policy. The following link takes you to an information leaflet provided by Suffolk County Council which will hopefully answer any questions you might have:
https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/asset-library/what-is-a-penalty-notice-leaflet.pdf

Copleston High School