Classroom

See also

• www.dcsf.gov.uk (Weblink)
• www.parentscentre.gov.uk (Weblink)
• www.liverpool.gov.uk (Weblink)

The Attendance Office now has a direct line. You can contact us on – 0151 737 4952

Morning registration starts promptly at 8.30am but we ask that your child is through the gate by twenty past eight and is ready to learn.

If your child is late then they must sign in at reception (temporarily located at the Sixth Form Entrance whilst the Main Entrance is renovated). This ensures they get their mark for registration and you don't receive unnecessary phone calls.

Absences

Only allow your child to stay home if he/she has a genuinely illness or has a medical appointment. Children should not miss valuable education for things like shopping trips, birthdays, haircuts, treats or to care for younger children. We also ask that where possible you make medical appointments outside of school hours and arrange family holidays for the school breaks so these events do not disrupt your child's education. All holidays must be authorised by the school, you will need to fill in a holiday form and return it to the school to be signed by a senior member of staff.

In the unfortunate event that your child is absent from school please adhere to the following procedure:

• Telephone the school on the first day of the absence and let us know when your child will be back in, if you are unsure please continue to telephone until your child returns.
• When your child returns please send them in with a note explaining the absence to their Group Tutor.

95% is our minimum expectation for your child's attendance

Parents have a legal responsibility to make sure that their child gets a full time education, this includes punctuality and attendance. There is a direct link between attendance and attainment and children cannot do their best at school if they do not attend regularly. Your child's exam results will suffer.

• If your child's has only 90% attendance
• That's an average of half day every week
• That's the equivalent to missing four weeks of school a year
• That's 120 missed lessons
• That's half a year of school over five years
• That's a lot of catching up and some pupils never do
• Every absence comes at a price...

Combating absenteeism in our school

Childwall has installed an automatic communication system called Truancy Call. It will contact you directly if your child is marked as absent from morning registration. This system ensures that you are alerted if your child is not in school when they should be and that the reason for an absence is known as soon as possible.

The system can also be used to contact you quickly should the need arise.

If you wish to update the numbers used by Truancy Call then please contact the school and inform us, it is important that the school has an up to date number to contact you on. You can also provide an e-mail address to be contacted on. If you do not wish for your child to be included on this system please contact your child's Pupil Progress Leader to discuss it.

Childwall also works in conjunction with the Local Authority and Merseyside Police on the Truancy Watch Scheme whereby any truanting pupils are returned to school immediately.

By introducing these services, our school is able to reassure you that we are meeting the Government's recommendations in contacting you on the first day of your child's absence. It will also provide an early warning system should your child go missing from school. As always your child's safety is our main concern.

Help and Support

If your child does not attend regularly, you will be contacted by your child's Group Tutor, Year Co-ordinator or the Student Support Officer.

In more serious cases an Education Welfare Officer will contact you to discuss the problem. Connexions Personal Advisors can also offer support.