Attendance                                 

Being around teachers and friends in a school or college environment is the best way for pupils to learn and reach their potential. Time in school also keeps children safe and provides access to extra-curricular opportunities and pastoral care.  

That’s why school attendance is so important and why here at Selby High we're committed to working with all parties to identify and resolve the issues that might cause some children to miss school unnecessarily.  

Reasons for missing school

We know that sometimes our pupils cannot come to school because they are really unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other students. Medical advice is clear however that children with mild illness will often be well enough to attend - for example if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature. The NHS guidance 'Is my child too ill for school?' (linked below) is designed to support parents in their decision making about mild illness. 

We also know that pupils fall behind their friends and classmates when they miss school. Here at Selby High School we want the amount of missed education to be reduced as much as possible. We believe that our community is stronger together, with all of our pupils in school, on time, every day. We are building life skills, life-long friendships and preparing your child for future success.  

Is my child too ill for school? (NHS Advice)

Why is regular attendance so important? (Education Hub resource)

School attendance and absence (GOV.uk advice)

How much is your child missing? 

Hours of learning lost due to absence from school

When staff talk about attendance percentages with parents or pupils, it can be difficult for them to understand why there are concerns. A child with 89% attendance at the end of an academic year will have missed 21 days of school (over four school weeks of learning missed). Whilst 89% is a positive achievement in an examination/test, 89% attendance would warrant a significant level of concern.

In order to address this issue, the following table has been put together to help us understand the amount of ‘learning hours lost’ as a result of a pupil’s absence. Where a child does not attend school, they miss out on significant hours of learning opportunities (broadly calculated as 5 hours for every two sessions missed) which are unlikely to be covered again. This places a child at significant risk of falling behind their peers: