Attendance & Punctuality

Notifying School Of Any Absences

We do ask that parents notify the school as early as possible of any absence. Parents can phone or email:​

Absence Line: +44 (0)118 9838422.​

Reception switchboard: +44 (0)118 9832030 which is open from 8.00am onwards. There is a message service for calls received before the phones are manned.  ​

Email: attendance@willink.w-berks.sch.uk

Education Welfare Service

Links between attendance and attainment:

Simon is an average student in Year 7 and has 90% attendance.​

​Simon thinks this is pretty good and so do his parents.  Are they right?​

90% attendance = ½ day missed every week!​

Let’s look a little closer ...​

90% attendance in one school year = 4 whole weeks of lessons missed​

90% attendance over 5 years of secondary school = ½ a school year missed​

Research from DCSF suggests that:​

17 missed school days a year = one GCSE grade DROP in achievement.​

The greater the attendance the greater the achievement.​

​Conclusion: 90% is not as good as would first appear.​

Our Attendance Officer and West Berks Education Welfare Service works with children, young people, families and schools to help students engage and achieve their potential. We routinely celebrate good attendance via school reports, assemblies and certificates are presented to students who achieve 100% attendance throughout the year. ​

​Absence and punctuality are monitored on a daily basis at The Willink. Registers are read by 9.00am every morning and any unexplained absences are queried, either with a phone call home or by using the Schoolcomms system to contact parents by text message and email. Absences which remain unexplained for more than a week may be treated as truancy and dealt with accordingly. The school issues Fixed Penalty Fines for parents of students who have 10 or more days of unauthorised absences during a 10 school week period, and also for unauthorised holidays of 5 or more days. ​

The Educational Welfare Officer meets regularly with Heads of Learning to monitor attendance patterns and to support and enforce the need for improved attendance.  ​

Punctuality

Punctuality also has an impact on attendance and persistent lateness can often lead to unexplained or unauthorised absences on a student’s attendance record.    Students who arrive at school after the registers have closed at 9.00am may be recorded as having an unauthorised absence.  This will impact on their attendance percentage and if it happens regularly may result in fixed penalty notice proceedings for unauthorised absence.  Late arrival at school is disruptive to other students and teaching staff.  We constantly monitor lateness.  Students are given a 10 minute break detention for being late and a Head of Learning detention (45 minutes after school) for persistent lateness (being late 5 times in a half term).​

If you suspect that your child’s poor attendance/punctuality may be because they are worried or unhappy about any aspect of school, please don’t hesitate to contact their form tutor or Head of Learning.  Deteriorating attendance can sometimes be an early sign of a student experiencing difficulties in school,  which early intervention may help to resolve.​

If you have any queries about your child’s attendance please contact the school office: office@willink.w-berks.sch.uk.​​