Attendance
On this page you will find all the information you need regarding Attendance. At the bottom of the page you will find attached:
1. WeST Attendance Escalation Process - One-minute guide
2. WeST Attendance Policy - Callington version
3. Absence request form
Our approach is always to work with Parents/Carers and Students to remove any barriers to maintaining good attendance (>96%). If you are struggling to get your Son/Daughter to school please contact our Attendance Officer (Mrs Lynda Fearn - lfearn@callingtoncc.net) who will direct you to a member of the pastoral team who is best placed to offer support.
If you are noticing that your Son/Daughter is becoming reluctant to attend College, please do let us know at the earliest stage so we can offer support if required.
High Expectations of Attendance and Punctuality
At Callington Community College we aim for an environment which enables and encourages all members of our College community to reach out for excellence. For our students to gain the greatest benefit from their education, it is vital that they attend regularly. The achievement of good attendance and punctuality is therefore given high priority.
We expect every student to achieve at least 96% attendance during an academic year. Evidence clearly shows that students who reach or go beyond their potential are those who have excellent attendance.
Parents, students and College staff share the responsibility for ensuring that attendance rates at Callington Community College are maximised and that rates of unjustified and unauthorised absenteeism are kept to an absolute minimum.
Did You Know
- 90% attendance means the equivalent of missing 4 whole weeks in one school year.
- Over 5 years, this is the equivalent of missing HALF a school year.
- Missing just 17 days in one year can mean dropping a full grade at GCSE.
- 75% of students with 95% attendance or more achieve 5 A* – C grades at GCSE.
- Of students with less than 90% attendance, only 25% achieve 5 A*-C grades at GCSE.
- A child on holiday for 2 weeks during term time will miss 50 one-hour lessons. Some never catch up.
- Being 10 minutes late each day for one year is equal to missing approximately 6 school days.
Attendance is rigorously monitored by the College. We will notify parents and carers once students’ levels of absence start to become a concern. If concerns persist, then we will invite parents and carers to meet with us so that concerns can be shared, factors affecting attendance identified and a plan of action agreed to help the student to attend regularly in the future. In the event of unauthorised absences persisting, further action will be taken by the college which could include legal action.
Holidays in term time
Callington Community College does not support holidays taken during term time.
Holidays in term time are not a universal entitlement. They are only granted at the discretion of the Principal and only in exceptional circumstances.
If Parents/Carers wish to take a student on holiday in term time, they should complete the absence request form linked below, clearly setting out the exceptional circumstances that mean a holiday needs to take place in term time and email the completed form to rtaylor@callingtoncc.net, clearly stating in the subject line "Holiday/Absence request".
Please note that Headteachers cannot authorise absence retrospectively and so, if a form is not received in good time, then the absence will automatically be unauthorised. Equally, unless you receive a written response to confirm the holiday is authorised, then please do not assume that it has been.
Parents/Carers who take their child out of College for a holiday without authorisation could receive a Fixed Penalty Notice
Our Attendance Escalation Process
Westcountry Schools Trust uses a common Attendance Escalation Process across its schools.
Each College day consists of two sessions (AM and PM). Therefore, each day missed counts as two sessions of absence. Unauthorised absences will mean that a student moves up the attendance escalation process faster than the guidance below.
Our Attendance Escalation Process is summarised as follows and shown in the table below:
Stage 1 - 10 sessions (5 days) - Attendance Conversation
Stage 2 - 15 sessions (7.5 days) - Yellow Attendance letter
Stage 3 - 30 sessions (15 days) - Amber Letter - Invite to Supportive Attendance Meeting
Stage 4 - 40 sessions (20 days) - Referral to WeST EWO via Red letter
Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
EBSA is an umbrella term that describes young people who struggle to attend school due to emotional factors, predominantly anxiety. Emotional distress at the time of attending school is the distinguishing feature of EBSA.
Cornwall Council have produced a useful presentation for Schools and Parents/Carers (attached below), which contains references to avenues of support that may be helpful if you are concerned your child is struggling with EBSA.
The first step should always be to contact the College Attendance lead (Mr R Taylor -rtaylor@callingtoncc.net) who will be happy to arrange a meeting with one of the pastoral team to discuss your concerns.
Useful Websites
Anna Freud Centre
Anna Freud Centre - 7 ways to support children and young people who are worried or anxious
Young Minds - Parents guide and helpline
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent
Parents' guide to school anxiety and refusal
Kooth
Kooth is a free, safe, and anonymous online platform where young people can access mental health support whenever they need it.
Lateness
If a student is late to College for an unavoidable reason, it is important that Parents/Carers let us know of this promptly so that they are not sanctioned.
Students who are late to College, or are 4 or more minutes late to lessons without a valid reason will receive a reset room placement as a sanction.
Attendance queries
Questions regarding attendance should be first directed to the attendance officer or your child’s tutor. For more detailed support with attendance please contact the relevant Head of Year or the College Attendance lead.
Our Senior Attendance Champion is Mr Rob Taylor, Assistant Principal - Behaviour and Attendance: rtaylor@callingtoncc.net
Our Attendance Officer is Mrs Lynda Fearn: lfearn@callingtoncc.net