Reporting an absence

You should aim to have attendance of 97% or better. If you are absent from School your parents/carers must contact the Post 16 Office so we can record the reason for your absence. Covered absences could include: illness, attending an interview, participating in a sporting competition or performance, hospital appointment etc.

Please provide a written note or evidence. Permission to be absent for holidays is not granted – this would be an unauthorised absence. If parents /carers don’t let us know, it will be an unauthorised absence. We will contact parents/carers to find out why students have been absent. If you are going to be absent, please ask your parents/carers to let the Post 16 Office know by 10am. Please call 0114 2662518 x2062 or email pluspost16admin@kes.sheffield.sch.uk. Find out from your friends what was covered in class and ask them to collect work for you. For absences known about in advance, it is your responsibility to let your teachers know and make sure you know what to do to catch up. We know that poor attendance has a negative influence on progress. King Edward VII School students who attend 90% or better on average obtain grades about one third of a grade above the national average based on prior attainment. For those who attend below 80% their progress is about two thirds of a grade below the national average. Good attendance can lift your grades across all your subjects by about one grade in each subject. That makes a big difference when you are chasing competitive offers for the next stage.

We are required to remove students from roll if they have been absent for 20 consecutive days with no contact and no plans to return to school.

Attendance intervention

We have a staged intervention system to support students maintaining a good attendance record. At Stage 0 Attendance Officers follow up reasons for absence with parents usually the day after an absence from lessons. Stage 1 below 90% involves home contact. Stage 2 at 80% moves onto an Attendance Agreement. For stages 3 and 4 the parent/carer and student will be invited to a meeting, with a written warning issued if appropriate. For students who are persistently absent from school or lessons and refuse to engage with intervention procedures there may be a request to leave Sixth Form. Attendance will be reviewed on approximately a half termly basis for students. Students will be categorised on this intervention scale and can move up or down as appropriate at each review point.

Attendance monitoring review points

Achievement points are added to Satchel for attendance of 97% or better; 90% or better; or improvement by more than 10%. 

Leave of absence (LOA)

If you need to take time out of School for non-routine appointments, open days, interviews etc. that is fine but please ask your parents to let the Post 16 Office and you let your teachers know. LOA is normally granted for work experience and participation in sporting competitions. As per the DfE guidance on attendance, LOA for holidays or other family trips are not authorised during term time. There is a Leave of Absence form on the KES website if needed.

Punctuality

Getting to your lessons on time is a pre-requisite. At the start of the lessons your teacher will explain what they hope to cover, if you are late, you miss that important introduction to the lesson. Being late is unacceptable and sets up poor habits for your working life. Whilst there will always be the unexpected and unavoidable crisis, we will follow up with students who are persistently late for lessons.