The Stonar Way 02.05.25

I frequently receive requests for a pupil to be absent from school. There are, of course, a whole myriad of reasons, usually very good ones, why a request is made. Indeed, there are occasions when pupils will be absent from lessons because they are participating in a school event.

We work hard to ensure that the latter scenario happens rarely through a detailed calendar planning process and, when we do have groups absent, teachers are given plenty of notice so that they can plan accordingly. We also work hard to help pupils catch up if they are away, but this is always less good than being in the classroom.

Recently, school attendance has received particular attention with a government report highlighting the impact of missing only a few lessons. The report notes, ‘Primary age children who attend school nearly every day in Year 6 (95-100% attendance) are 30% more likely to reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths compared to similar pupils who attend 90-95% of the time.

The link is even stronger at secondary school. Year 11 pupils with near-perfect attendance are almost twice as likely to achieve grade 5 in English and Maths GCSE, compared to similar pupils attending 90-95% of the time. In other words, missing just 10 extra days a year reduces the likelihood of achieving these grades by around 50%.’

Of course, our pupils will often be aiming for stronger grades across the board, but the metric still demonstrates the impact of missing only a few days per term.

In addition, The Times recently highlighted government research that shows that each school day missed between Years 7-11 can result in a £750 reduction in future earnings and that only 36% of pupils who were absent for 10% of the time in Years 10 and 11 achieved five GCSE passes, including Maths and English.

This is why we have offered boarders the chance to stay on Friday night at the end of a half term and term, so that they can more easily attend the whole of the last school day. It is also why we might be reluctant to agree to pupil absence requests and point out the potential impact of a pupil missing lessons.

Indeed, recording attendance is a statutory responsibility and we are required to register pupils using Department for Education codes. Those codes include ‘Unauthorised Absence’, which is used to record absences that do not meet the criteria for authorised absences, such as illness or educational appointments. This is why parents will receive emails from us that might show understanding for the absence requested, but also note that it will be recorded as an ‘Unauthorised Absence.’

Our Attendance Officer, Mrs Tilley, is also required to monitor pupil attendance closely and works with tutors and parents where we identify that attendance is lower than 95%.

As ever, these things are about working together and getting the right balance, but I thought that it was worth sharing some of the detail from recently published reports.