Attendance

Regular attendance and punctuality are essential if students are to benefit fully from their education. The links between attendance and academic achievement are well known and we recognise the importance of students being in school every day so that they may work to fulfil their potential and be the best version of themselves.  We encourage all students to aim for 100% attendance with a minimum target of achieving 97%. 

Attendance at The Cooper School is at record levels because students enjoy coming to school and are supported to be the best that they can be. Establishing and maintaining excellent attendance habits and routines is also a key life skill and will be a basic expectation for all of our students in their future careers. 

Achieving excellent attendance is everyone's responsibility and we work with our students to ensure that they know what good attendance means and they take responsibility for this. Students track their attendance daily in their Student Essentials booklet in Lesson 0 and monitor both their weekly attendance and year to date attendance headlines, helping students to aspire to their very best attendance. We also work with parents to develop a shared understanding of what good attendance means and looks like and provide regular updates and communication via our parental bulletin.

Our attendance summary leaflet linked offers a short summary of expectations and procedures. 

We work hard to recognise good attendance, with rewards given at the end of each term to celebrate the commitment and determination that comes with 100% attendance. We also recognise where students are making improvements and those who are attending in  line with the ‘best they can be’ and any medical conditions which may prevent full attendance. We work with students and their families to ensure support is in place.

All absences will detract from a students 100% attendance record however we do understand that occasionally students must have time away from school in cases such as illness, medical appointments or bereavement. 

Reporting Absences

We do understand that on rare occasions, absence will be unavoidable.

If you child is ill or can not attend school due to an appointment or exceptional circumstance, please call the absence line on 01865 or email absence@thecooperschool.co.uk   and leave a message. We ask that we are notified on each day of an absence so that we may be updated about the condition of absent students. If your child is ill or can not attend for a prolonged period of time we will work with families to see how we can support them. Students attending school are expected to take part in all activities unless they have a letter from a parent/guardian stating what they ar unable to do.

The NHS webpage 'Is My Child Too Ill for School' provides some useful information and the poster HERE provides a useful summary.

If there has been a family bereavement or an incident that may affect your child's attendance, behaviour or concentration, please contact us so that we can alert your child's Personal Development mentor (PDM), class teachers and the pastoral team to ensure that they offer the right support. Please be assured that the details remain confidential and information will only be shared with those who need to know.

Managing illness at school 

If a child is taken ill at school, they should alert a member of staff who will alert reception and a first aider. If they remain unwell permission may be granted for them to go home once parents have been contacted. In the case of accidental injuries, parents/guardians will also be notified as soon as possible.

Students must not contact parents directly or leave the school premises without seeking support in school first and being signed out at reception. Please ensure that all emergency contact details are kept up to date at school for this reason.

It is crucial that the school is made aware of any special medical conditions that you child may have so that we can ensure that they receive the right support and care; this information will always be treated confidentially. Please ensure that colleagues in Student Support or The ACE are contacted and made aware of any changes so that our records may remain up to date and accurate.

To ensure student safety school staff cannot administer medication to students, we ask that they self administer. We are not able to give non-prescription pain relief during the school day, however can facilitate requests for medication to be brought in if required. If a student regularly suffers from acute pain, such as migraine, parents/guardians must authorise in writing and supply the appropriate pain killer for their child's use.

Requests for Authorised Absence

Parents and carers are requested not to take their children out of school during term time, as missing school mean missing out on vital lessons and key areas of learning. With 175 non-school days available each calendar year, we ask that this time is used for non-urgent medical appointments in order to support your child’s goos attendance and academic achievement.

Monitoring Attendance

Attendance may be monitored via the MyChildAt School (MCAS) and Class Charts apps. The attendance recorded links with our school MIS system Bromcom. 

Please note that the school is obliged to report attendance below 90% to the Local Authority as students with attendance below this threshold are classified as being Persistently Absent from school. Any students with attendance less than 50% are classified as being Severely Absent.

Where we have concerns about student attendance we will work with students and their families to try to identify any perceived or actual barriers to attendance and to create an action plan of how working together we can work to resolve and improve the situation. We will work in a supportive manner with families to secure an improvement. We will work with families to secure external support where required and will refer to prosecution as a last resort after all other avenues have been exhausted.

For further information and guidance, visit our Policies pages.