Attendance

At Wade Deacon High School we expect high levels of attendance and punctuality from all of our pupils. We believe that regular attendance promotes positive social development, develops self discipline and improves pupil progress. There is a clear link between attendance and attainment and as a school we expect all pupils to aim to achieve at least 97% attendance. Less than 95% attendance every year in school equals a 1 grade difference across ALL GCSE grades compared to students with 100% attendance. As well as ensuring students achieve their full potential, our high expectations for attendance help to prepare students for the workplace, where an absence rate of 5% or above would be considered a cause for concern.

Attendance Matters

Poor attendance can significantly impact a student’s progress. For example, a student with 90% attendance misses nearly 4 weeks of school, equating to 100 hours of learning.

Attendance and Achievement

The graph below highlights the strong correlation between attendance and academic achievement, demonstrating how regular attendance supports success in exams.

Reporting Student Absence

If your child is absent, you are requested to;

Contact the school on the first morning of your child’s absence by 8.40am stating your child’s full name, registration group and an explanation for their absence. You should continue to contact the school on each day that the absence continues. The preferred method of contact is to report your child's absence via Arbor. Alternatively, please use one of the methods below:

Telephone: 0151 423 2721

E-Mail: absence@wadedeacon.co.uk

Your child’s absences that are attributed to illness may not be authorised unless you provide medical verification; this must be forwarded to school via Arbor or email. Medical verification can take the form of an appointment card/letter, counterfoil of a prescription, medication packaging/photocopy of medication packaging, or communication in writing from your medical professional. All evidence must be dated by the relevant medical establishment.

Medical Appointments

We ask parents/carers to endeavour to ensure that medical appointments take place outside of the school day, however we know that this is not always possible. All notification of medical appointments should be in writing prior to the appointment date with the card or appointment letter attached. If medical appointments fall in the school days, students should attend school prior to the appointment, as well as returning to school after their appointment to ensure they get their morning and afternoon mark.

Compulsory Catch Up

To support pupil progress, pupils who have missed curriculum time will be required to complete Compulsory Catch Up to support their learning and reduce any knowledge gaps. In the event of missing curriculum time, pupils have got until the Friday of the week following their absence to complete any work that was missed, and ensure their teacher has signed it off as complete. It is the responsibility of the pupil to identify and complete any work that has been missed. Pupils must present their catch up sheet to their Progress Leader or Assistant Progress Leader on the Thursday of the week following their absence. If all work has not been completed, pupils will be required to stay behind where they will be supported by staff to complete their catch up work.

Leave of Absence During Term Time

The School will not routinely grant permission for leave of absence to be taken in term time and discourage parents/carers making an application for leave except in “special or exceptional circumstances”.

To apply for leave of absence, please request a leave of absence form from the school office.

Changes to DfE guidance regarding leave of absences during term time mean that fining and legal action will escalate where multiple instances occur within a specific time period.

Please remember support and guidance regarding attendance and punctuality is always available from school. Further information can be found in our attendance policy, which is available, along with other useful links below:

Attendance and Leave of Absence Policy – Attendance and Leave of Absence Policy

Working Together to Improve School Attendance - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a4f9ec6a6586e258d371bd0/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_2026.pdf

NHS Guide - Is my child too ill for school? - https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/