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As a parent or carer, you always want the absolute best for your children growing up. Having a good education is a great head start in life and crucial in creating more opportunities in adult life.

Did you know that:

• a child who is absent a day of school per week misses an equivalent of two years of their school life.
• 90% of young people with attendance rates below 85% fail to achieve five or more good grades of GCSE and around one third achieve no GCSEs at all!
• poor examination results limit young people’s options.
• poor attendance suggests to colleges and employers that these students are unreliable.
• poor school attendance can lead to potential involvement in crime - a quarter of school age offenders have truanted repeatedly.
• In the UK 7.5 million school days are missed each year through unauthorised absence

GCSEs may seem a long way off for your child, but all absences at any stage of your child’s education leads to gaps in your child’s learning. This in turn can:

• mean that they fall behind in work
• They lose motivation
• Impact on their enjoyment of learning
• lead to poor behaviour
• affect their desire to attend school regularly
• affect their confidence in school
• mean they miss out on the social life of school and extra-curricular opportunities and experiences
• affect their ability to have or keep friendships.

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Supporting your child's school attendance

Good school attendance habits are best started early. Children learn from those around them and you as parents/carers set the standards and expectations for them. Showing your child the importance of attending school every day not only helps your child to settle quickly when starting school but helps them to keep and maintain friendships and enjoy the school environment.

Be organised, have a plan, be consistent and involve your child.

You should:

• Create good routines for mornings at home so that your child can arrive punctually and they are properly equipped
• Talk to them about the things they have been learning. A short chat may produce a better result than a long list of questions.
• Read all school communications.
• Attend school parents evenings and functions.
• Check your child understands the homework and that it has been completed. Support them in completing homework by creating a calm space for them to work in.
• Avoid absence from school wherever possible. Avoid GP and dental appointments during school hours. Absence means your child will miss out on academic studies and begin to feel that education is not a priority. This can have a negative lifelong effect.

There tends to be good reasons why children become reluctant to attend school. Take the time to listen to your child, share any concerns you or your child may have with the appropriate member of school staff and seek support at the very earliest opportunity.

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Well done to those with 100% attendance

We are proud to say at Harris Battersea we have 113 students with 100% attendance this term. This is an amazing achievement for all of these students, it shows their dedication to their education, themselves and their futures.

An extra huge congratulation to the Y7s who have the highest percentage of student with 100% attendance.