Attendance

Regular attendance is vital for your child’s success, helping them to achieve their best and develop important life skills.

We believe that regular attendance is essential for students to achieve their best and benefit fully from their education. Attending school every day helps students build strong relationships, develop key life skills and prepare for future success.

Reporting an absence

To report a student absent from school, please call either Thorpe Campus on 01255 861341, or Frinton Campus on 01255 672116. When prompted, please press 1 - Year 7-9, press 2 - Year 10-11, and press 3 - Sixth Form.

When prompted please leave a message stating your child's name, tutor group, who is calling and the specific reason for absence. Generic reasons such as ‘unwell’ will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. This should be done every day that the child is absent.

You can also report absences via Arbor; guides to this process can be found here (In-app messaging) and here (A quick introduction to Arbor...). All absences must be reported no later than 8:30 am.

Day 1:

Contact the school to report the absence and provide the reason and expected return date.

Day 2 and beyond:

Keep the school informed of your child’s progress and update the expected return date where possible. Absences can be reported by phone or via the school’s dedicated absence email: Contact us

First day calling policy

If we haven’t heard from you by a set time (usually 10:30 am), a member of the school’s administration team will contact you to confirm the reason for absence.

School attendance and the law

Parents and carers are legally responsible for ensuring their child attends school regularly and punctually. Failure to do so could result in legal action by the local authority.

Under the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006, only the school can authorise an absence – not parents or carers.

Time off for holidays during term time is not a legal right. Any request for a leave of absence must be made in advance by completing an absence form and submitting it to the school office. If a holiday is taken without permission, the absence will be recorded as ‘unauthorised’ and could result in legal action.

You can read the government advice here:

https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence

Why is attendance important?

Regular school attendance is essential because:

It is a legal requirement for children aged 5 to 16
It supports academic success and future opportunities
Schools have a safeguarding responsibility for all students
It helps develop social skills and strong relationships
Schools have a safeguarding responsibility for all students
It ensures students gain the qualifications they need for their next steps in education or employment

Attendance expectations

Students attend school every day. Minimum target of 98% or above (three days off)
For 2024-25: 184 days. 181 days to spend on family time, holidays and appointments
Be punctual to school and to lessons
Complete the Attendance Tracker in Student Planners once a week

How families can support good attendance

Encourage good sleep and morning routines
Be firm - send your child to school every day, all day, unless they are sick
Schedule appointments and extra-curricular activities outside of school and avoid taking holidays during term time
Seek help early before your concerns become serious

Requesting a leave of absence

There may be occasions during the school year that require a leave of absence during term time. Please ensure that you complete the application form attached here, which will need to be printed, filled in and returned to the school as soon as possible. Please note that we are unable to accept leave of absence requests via email. You must complete the linked form and return it to the school in order for your request to be processed.

Morning and afternoon registration

Morning registration runs between 8.40am - 9.10am (Tutor period). Any student arriving after 9.10am (unless there is an extenuating circumstance) will receive an unauthorised late code. This will impact negatively on attendance.
Afternoon registration runs between 2.10pm - 3.10pm (Period 5). If a student leaves site for whatever reason before 2.10pm, this will impact negatively on attendance.

News and events

Introducing a new look for our school

Details View

Latest college newsletter

Details View

Accreditations