Dean Trust Wigan are proud of the high standards of attendance and punctuality achieved. These statistics are an indication of the high levels of co-operation which exist between school and home, as well as the positive response of pupils to their educational opportunities provided by the school.
We believe that:
Pupils should aim to attend school every day on time except where illness makes it impossible. Parents/carers must telephone school on the first day of absence to provide a reason.
Our school employs a team of professionals who, in partnership with Startwell and the authority’s Attendance Enforcement Team, will follow up all absences.
Our aim for pupils is a minimum of at least 97% attendance. There are termly rewards for pupils who give 100% attendance.
If your child is unable to attend school for any reason you should telephone the school attendance office on 01942 511987 to inform the attendance team of the reason. You are able to record this on answer phone. If a pupil is absent and we haven’t received an explanation this will trigger an automated truancy call.
The attendance team monitor attendance closely and will contact parents if there are concerns with their child’s attendance. If these cannot be rectified we will contact the local School Attendance Enforcement Team for support.
Pupils who arrive after 8.35am in the morning will be marked late. Any pupil who is late in the morning will be asked to complete a lunchtime detention. Pupils who are persistently late will be interviewed by their Head of Year to try to find solutions to the problem.
Under the Education Act 1996, parents and carers have a duty to make sure their children regularly attend school. If parents or carers fail to do this, they can be prosecuted. Working within a Code of Conduct the Local Authority can issue a penalty notice to parents or carers if a child has missed a number of sessions without permission from the school.
Amendments have been made to the 2006 regulations in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. From 1st September 2013 this prevents Headteachers from authorising holidays/absence during term time. Leave of absence from school should only be in exceptional circumstances.
If possible all appointments should be arranged out of school hours to ensure minimum disruption to your child’s education. When appointments have to be made in school hours a note asking for release must be sent to the Form Tutor.
Please note that there is no automatic right for a pupil’s leave of absence. The school will consider a request for leave of absence in relation to the exceptional circumstances of the application together with the pupil’s attendance and educational attainment. You can download the request form below.
Please click below to download the current Attendance Policy (Pupils) for Dean Trust Wigan.