Attendance and Punctuality

At Greenshaw Sixth Form we firmly believe that all students benefit from outstanding school attendance. We are extremely proud of our student’s attendance each and every day, and we want to continue to maintain these high standards.

Full and punctual attendance of lessons is an expectation we have of all students. Students who are persistently late to class, or who are absent without good reason, will be jeopardising their place in the Sixth Form. Parents/carers can check their child's attendance on the school’s digital platform, Frog. 

If there is a legitimate reason for absence, then parents must contact the school on each day of absence and be aware that further medical evidence may be requested. Students who fall below our expectations of attendance and punctuality will always be put on an Attendance Action Plan which will include parent meetings, goal-setting and review points for students to improve in these areas.

Reporting absences

We expect that all parents/carers who have day to day responsibility for the children and young people will: 

• Encourage regular school attendance and be aware of their legal responsibilities.
• Ensure that the child/children in their care arrive at school punctually, prepared for the school day.
• Contact the school before 9.00am on the morning of each day of the student's absence by calling the 24-hour attendance line 020 8715 1001 option 1 > option 1 or email the school on 6thform@greenshawhigh.co.uk. Please note that any unexplained absence will be treated as unauthorised absence.
• Provide medical evidence where the illness/absence is frequent or long term. If the illness is longer than four days, we will require medical evidence to be able to authorise the absence; 
• Make all non-emergency medical appointments during the school holidays (see term dates above) or outside school hours. Medical evidence of these appointments should be provided, ie. medical appointment card and the school will need to be notified no later than 24 hours in advance. It is expected that students attend either side of medical appointments.
• Remember punctuality is also highly important.

We understand that there may be rare occasions when you are unavoidably late due to unforeseen circumstances. On these occasions, please make sure that you contact Sixth Form reception (contact details above) to inform us when you will arrive. 

Non-contact periods

Students will have on their timetables periods that are classified as free, ie non-contact periods. We expect that students will use this time for private study and that any non-contact periods will be spent in the Sixth Form study areas completing work where they must register with the Sixth Form reception.

It is compulsory for Year 12 and 13 students to be on site from 8.25am for registration on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. There is no registration on Monday and Friday. Year 12 students are encouraged to remain on-site until 3.00pm to engage in independent study, although they are allowed off site for lunch. Year 13 students are only expected to be on site for morning registration and their lessons, although we strongly recommend them remaining on site in their independent study hours and studying in the SRC at these times.

Please note that at any point if we have concerns about your child’s attendance, punctuality, attainment or conduct, then we will adapt timetables so that they are expected to work on site between 8.25am and 4.00pm each day. An email will be sent to notify you of this.

Holidays during term time

The Department for Education (DfE) noticed that attendance at school for some children had become problematic, so from September 2024 introduced some significant changes to their guidance: Working Together to Improve School Attendance.

Previously, headteachers were able to authorise holidays in term time if there were exceptional circumstances. From September 2024, the DfE has withdrawn the H code and has stated that “Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation would not constitute an exceptional circumstance”.  Therefore, we are no longer able to authorise holidays in term time.  In the unlikely case of holidays being taken, they will be recorded as ‘Unauthorised Holiday in Term Time’.  

At Greenshaw Sixth Form, we are committed to supporting students to achieve and maintain good attendance and punctuality. 

Please click here for the Greenshaw High School Attendance Policy.

The message is simple: the greater the attendance, the greater the achievement.