Attendance
Encouraging regular school attendance is one of the most powerful ways you can prepare your child for success – both in school and in life.
When you make school attendance a priority, you help your child get better grades, develop healthy life habits, avoid dangerous behaviour and have a better chance of succeeding at school.
Research consistently demonstrates a strong correlation between high levels of attendance and improved educational outcomes. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve their full potential academically, with improvements often seen in both attainment and reading skills. Regular attendance also helps students to build confidence, develop a strong sense of belonging within the school community, and establish important social skills and friendships. As a result, students with good attendance are significantly more likely to experience success, wellbeing, and positive outcomes both during their education and in later life.
| Descriptor | Threshold Attendance |
Actual Attendance (Out of a possible 190) |
Whole Days Absent | Learning Hours Lost |
| Excellent |
100% 99% |
190 days 188 days |
0 days 2 days |
0 hours 10 hours |
|
Good (Our expectation at Hillview is at least 97%) |
98% 97% 96% |
186 days 184 days 182.5 days |
4 days 6 days 7.5 days |
20 hours 30 hours 37.5 hours |
| Less than Satisfactory |
95% 94% 93% |
180.5 days 179 days 177 days |
9.5 days 11 days 13 days |
47,5 hours 55 hours 65 hours |
| Cause for Concern |
92% 91% 90% 89% |
175 days 173 days 171 days 169 days |
15 days 17 days 19 days 21 days |
75 hours 85 hours 95 hours 105 hours |
| Serious Cause for Concern |
88% 87% 86% |
167 days 165 days 163 days |
23 days 25 days 27 days |
115 hours 125 hours 135 hours |
|
Critical (85% & Below) |
85% 84% 83% 82% 81% 80% |
161.5 days 159.5 days 158 days 156 days 154 days 152 days |
28.5 days 30.5 days 32 days 34 days 36 days 38 days |
142.5 hours 152.5 hours 160 hours 170 hours 180 hours 190 hours |
The importance of excellent attendance
The school has a statutory duty to ensure the safety and welfare of every child on roll. This responsibility includes recording each pupil’s attendance at both morning and afternoon registration, as well as monitoring their physical, emotional and mental well-being throughout the school day.
All children should have access to education every day through regular attendance at school. Consistent attendance enables pupils to fully engage in learning, make progress, and achieve their potential across all aspects of school life. Excellent attendance and punctuality are fundamental to positive educational experiences and are strongly linked to improved life outcomes. Every school day missed will result in lost learning, which can be difficult to fully recover. While teachers provide support, the classroom experience is unique and cannot easily be replicated.
Students are aware of the expectations and importance of aiming for 100% attendance, but where absences are unavoidable would expect it to be no less than 97% over the course of an academic year. You are able to review and monitor your child’s attendance via Arbor.
Arriving at school by 8:30 am every day, being punctual to and remaining in all lessons for the entirety.
Attendance: Every day matters!
Good attendance at school is essential for a child’s education and establishes a positive working ethos early in life. It has been proven by DfE studies that students who are absent from school do not reach their full potential when measured against, their target grades and those that have a higher attendance percentage. Parents should bear this in mind when allowing their child to stay at home.
