Please refer to our Attendance policy:

Attendance and Punctuality Policy

Connaught School for Girls has very high standards of punctuality and attendance:

• Each term, many students in each year group achieve 100% attendance
• Students with 100% attendance are rewarded with certificates in school assemblies
• Students with high levels of attendance are more likely to succeed
• Employers and colleges ask for evidence of good attendance and punctuality
• A student cannot learn effectively if she is not in school
• Missed work through absence must be made up and this can lead to difficulties

Punctuality

Each morning, students are registered by their form tutors in their tutor rooms. We expect students to be in their tutor rooms by 8.25am. Registration is at 8.30am. If a student is not present in the tutor room on time, they are recorded in the register as late.

Timings of the school day

Students are encouraged and expected to be punctual and a tutor will talk to a student who is late to discover the reason for the lateness. If a student has visited the doctor before coming to school, she needs to bring a note. Alternatively, an explanation can be written in the school diary.

When a student comes in late, she must sign in at the office. In years 7, 8 & 9, the form tutor and Head of Year deal with lateness and detentions are issued accordingly. In Years 10 & 11, 30 minute late detentions are issued for the same day as the lateness occurred. These detentions are supervised by the Heads of Years 10 & 11 and senior staff.

Attendance

We expect excellent attendance from all our students.

The form tutor takes a morning and afternoon registration. Subject teachers also take attendance registers during their lessons. This enables them to keep a record of which students need to make up work. We telephone parents/carers on the first day of a student’s absence: you can help us by telephoning us by 8.30am to inform us that your daughter is unwell.

On the day your daughter returns to school, she needs to bring a note to explain her absence. Parents/carers can either write a letter or complete a certification form. Medical and dental appointments should be made outside of school hours. If your daughter does need to attend a dental or medical appointment during school hours, she should show an appointment card or letter to her form tutor prior to the appointment. This enables us to mark your daughter as present. The same applies if your daughter needs to attend an external audition or exam.

If a student becomes ill in school, our office staff will notify parents/carers and, with their permission, the student will be sent home.

Holiday absence during term time

As a parent/carer, you have signed the Home/School Agreement that holidays will not be taken in term time. We strongly discourage our students from losing out on their education due to holidays. It is extremely hard to catch up on missed work as secondary education flows at a fast pace across a wide range of subjects: making up the work is never as good as experiencing the lesson firsthand.

Absence also disrupts social integration into school life as it can cause a breakdown in friendships. Reintegration into school can be stressful and de-motivating if a student struggles to catch up on missed work.