Attendance & Punctuality

It is widely accepted that excellent attendance to school correlates with excellent academic outcomes and also a sense of belonging. We aspire for all students to have attendance in excess of 97% so that lost learning time is minimised. The table below, provided by Birmingham City Council, goes some way to explaining the importance of this:

How does your child compare?

Attendance during one school year	equals this number of days absent	which is approximately this many weeks absent	which means this number of lessons missed
95%	9 days	2 weeks	50 lessons
90%	19 days	4 weeks	100 lessons
85%	29 days	6 weeks	150 lessons

Promoting Excellent Attendance

Our attendance strategy is made up of three components:

Make Five Ways a place where students feel cared for and where a sense of resilience, aspiration and love of learning are fostered. The indirect effect of this is that students want to come to school and any period of absence is only every short lived.
Have a clear and graduated approach to patterns of poor attendance, led by pastoral leaders and our attendance officer. These escalations are in line with BCC guidance and although supportive in nature, ultimately result in robust action.
Be rigorous in our aftercare when students return from absence, so that repetition is avoided. Tutors will conduct Return to School meetings with students after absence, in order to identify any support needs.

Reporting Absence

We politely request that you report absence via the Class Charts Parent App or email absence@fws.kevibham.org at your earliest opportunity (before 9am). This must be completed for every day that your child is absent from school.

We aim to send a text message to parents of any child who is absent from school and from whom we haven’t heard.

Requests for a Leave of Absence (LOA) should be made via the relevant online form (accessible via the Contact tab). Parents should provide at least 24 hours’ notice for any medical appointments. Please complete a LOA and await approval before making any financial commitment to travel etc. Once approved/rejected by the Head, the attendance officer will email you as soon as possible. Please note that parents taking their children out of school on unauthorised leave in term time are liable to a penalty fine from Birmingham City Council.

Promoting Excellent Punctuality

What should a student do when they are LATE FOR SCHOOL?

Is it before 9:05?

If the 8.35 bell has rung, the student should sign in at reception before going to their form room. They should be ready to explain why they are late and have the number of minutes late recorded on Class Charts.

What if it is an assembly day?

They must sign in at reception then move silently to classroom S3 .

Is it after 9:05?

They must sign in at reception then move purposefully to lesson.

What should a student do when they are LATE FOR A LESSON?

Is it Period 1?

Their teacher will challenge them to confirm they have signed in at reception (which will be evidenced on Class Charts).

Every Period

Their teacher will challenge them on the reason for their lateness and will record that reason (and the number of minutes you are late) on Class Charts. If they are concerned by the integrity of their reason or for their welfare they may complete a referral to the safeguarding/pastoral team.

*Unmerited lateness will also receive a Penalty Point on Class Charts