Attendance

The importance of attendance

At Pudsey Grammar school, we believe that every lesson is an important step in building a successful future. Research shows that good attendance underpins not just academic success but also friendships and enjoyment of school. The link between attendance and academic outcomes is clear. We view good attendance as being above 97%.

100% attendance students are more than three times as likely to get grade 5s in English and Maths than people with 85 - 90% attendance.

100% attendance students are more than twice as likely to achieve 5+ GCSEs at grades 5 and above including English and mathematics than pupils with 85% attendance of KS4 lessons.

Even at 80% and 90% attendance, students miss a significant number of lessons which significantly impacts on their ability to access the curriculum.

We regularly speak to students about the importance of attendance in assembly and in form time and try to address any barriers to attendance through conversations with students and parents. 

Irregular patterns of attendance

We have discussed with students the concept of ‘broken weeks’ of attendance and how they impact on students health and well being.  We looked at the impact of absences on one student across a half term.

In this case study, absences are highlighted in red. What may seem to parents and students as an absence of ‘the odd day here and there’ can have a significant impact on wellbeing, academic progress and friendships. In the example above:

• Lessons missed in week 1 mean that the student did not receive tuition in crucial topics in English and Maths.
• In week 2, the student missed lessons where students chose working groups in Art and PE - consequently, they were not able to work with their preferred friendship group in the following lessons.
• In week 4, the student missed an opportunity to excel in a team game in PE, therefore missing out on an enjoyable experience which would boost self esteem.
• Finally, in week 6 the student was worried about English and Maths assessments and was absent. This means assessments were taken at a later date when crucial information was not fresh in the memory.

The case study above makes it clear that ‘broken weeks’ are a significant barrier to achievement in, and enjoyment of, school.

Rewards are an important part of our structure at Pudsey Grammar School and we provide a range of both long and short term rewards across the school year. We regularly inform students and parents of our new rewards initiatives.

If you would like further information about attendance at Pudsey Grammar School, please contact the attendance team on attendance@pudseygrammar.co.uk or call the attendance team on 0113 386 9122.

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Our latest attendance policy can be viewed on our school policies page by clicking here >