Student Absence

There is much evidence to suggest that students with lower attendance rates achieve lower grades than students with higher attendance rates, therefore at HBHS we believe that attendance is one of the building blocks of a successful career at school. If students do not attend school regularly, they will miss out on learning and it is therefore vital that every child attends regularly. Therefore we ask parents/carers to make medical and dental appointments outside the school day, whenever possible. If a parent/carer has any problems with the attendance of their child then, in the first instance, they are asked to contact their Year Manager.

1. If your child is too unwell to attend school:
Please telephone 01227 289409 or email us at absence@hernebayhigh.org before 9.00am on every day of absence. You do not need to then follow this up in writing.

2. Absence for medical appointments:
Please telephone, send a note or email in advance explaining the reasons for the absence. Where possible, please try to obtain appointments outside of school hours or at a time that will cause minimum disruption to learning, i.e. first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon in order that they can be in school for the rest of the day.

3. Extended absence through illness:
Should your child be unwell for 5 days or more, we will require medical evidence to support this absence. This can be in the form of a signed doctor’s card, prescription or medication label. Most local surgeries are aware of our attendance policy and are supportive of these measures.

4. Leave of absence during term time:
In response to Government and Local Authority directives, holidays are not authorised during term time unless in exceptional circumstances and never in the case of students in an exam year. Please write to the Principal, giving as much notice as possible of any planned absence. Please do also note that we work in line with Kent County Council guidelines and unauthorised absence can result in a penalty notice being issued for absence of 5 days or more from school.

5. Truancy Calling:
We operate a truancy call policy where we call parents when a child is absent with no explanation. We begin making calls at 9.30am, so all information received by this time via the details in point 1 above is taken into account. If you contact us after this time or your child arrives late at school (after 8.30am), there is a possibility you will have received or are about to receive a call from us. This is to safeguard your child and ensure safe arrival at school.

6. Lateness:
If your child arrives late after the register has been taken by their mentor, they will need to go to main reception to sign in. Please note that this will be recorded as unauthorised absence after 8.50am.

Employers, further education and higher education establishments set great store by punctuality and attendance and it is something that we have to comment on when we write any reference for a young person when they leave school. We have a duty to ensure that every student in our school understands the importance of punctuality. If a student is 5 minutes late 3 times a week, this equates to 10 hours education missed in a year or 50 hours over a school lifetime.

We expect all students to be on site by 8.30am with mentor time or assembly starting promptly at this time. Herne Bay High School Attendance Policy

Letter to Families regarding new Attendance Legislation - September 2024