Yavneh College seeks to ensure that all its students receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each student to realise their true potential. To this end we aim to encourage and assist all students to achieve excellent levels of attendance and punctuality.
We strive to provide a welcoming, caring environment, whereby each member of the School community feels wanted and secure. We have a system of rewards and incentives that we constantly review in order motivate pupils to attend school. It is also incumbent upon the school to challenge the actions of those pupils and parents who fail to meet their responsibilities regarding attendance and punctuality. It is vital that the school works in partnership with pupils and parents therefore, we have established an effective and efficient system of communication with all pupils and parents. Yavneh College will always seek the support and advice of outside agencies where appropriate and we are guided by the expectations laid out by the Department for Education (DFE).
Attendance is vitally important for your child’s educational progress. The school regards absences as a very serious concern and there is overwhelming evidence which demonstrates a clear correlation between those pupils who are persistently absent and underachievement in examinations. Below is an illustration of how attendance impacts on a pupil’s education:
It is with this in mind that the school will only grant leave in term time in the most exceptional circumstances. Any leave taken without the express permission of the Headteacher will be recorded as unauthorised and may lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) being issued. In the most extreme cases, extended leave may result in your child being removed from roll.
Other criterion for issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice includes:
The pupil must have at least 15 half days of unauthorised absence in the current and / or previous term.
The school must have sent you a formal warning.
The school considers that issuing a penalty notice could stop any more absences.
Cost of a penalty notice (per parent, per child)
£60 – if paid within 21 days.
£120 – if paid between 21 and 28 days.
What you need to if you wish to apply for leave of absence for a child:
Absence requests should be made well in advance to the Headteacher by downloading the Pupil Absence Request Form from the Yavneh College website. Your child’s attendance record will be considered as part of the process, any child who has attendance below 96% for the previous and/or current academic year, is unlikely to be granted permission.
If your child is absent due to illness, please let us know on the first morning of absence EITHER by completing the ‘Report Absence’ page in the ‘Attendance’ section of Insight OR by telephoning the school office each day of absence. When your child returns to school, please notify us of the reason for their absence EITHER via Insight OR by sending your child’s form tutor a signed and dated letter. Please note that it is not sufficient to simply state that your child has been ill; we require that the nature of the illness is stated.
If your child has a medical or dental appointment, please make it for outside of school hours. If this is not possible and means that they need to leave school early or arrive late, please inform us at least 24 hrs in advance EITHER by logging into Insight OR by providing a note for your child’s form tutor. Please ensure that your child reports to the school office so that their late arrival/early departure can be recorded. If your child needs to leave school early they must obtain an exit pass from the school office in order to be allowed offsite.
If for any reason you require support with your child’s attendance, please contact us. For further information, a copy of our attendance policy is available on request or, you can find the Education Welfare Service’s Non-School Attendance, Education Penalty Notices, Local Code of Conduct on Hertfordshire Council’s website http://www.thegrid.org.uk. Thank you for your continued support.
Please click here to be directed to the Pupil Absence Request webform.
