Good attendance is very important to us. On average, our students have an attendance rate of 97%. We appreciate, however, that everyone does not have good health all the time, and that genuine illness, injury or emergencies happen, so there may be legitimate reasons for students to be out of school.

Absence

Please follow the updated instructions below to report your child as absent from school:

• To report that your child is unwell and will be absent from school, use Studybugs App.
• To report an absence due to an appointment, please notify the school by emailing head@kechg.org.uk
• To request time off from school for other reasons, please email head@kechg.org.uk
• If your child needs a leave of absence for religious observance, please request the absence by email to head@kechg.org.uk at least 3 days prior to the date .

Please note: The email address absence@kechg.org.uk will no longer be used for reporting absences.

Cases of infectious disease should be notified to the school immediately via Studybugs or, by emailing head@kechg.org.uk

If your child has not been reported absent, and has not been marked present at registration, you will receive an automatic email asking you to contact the school as soon as possible with a reason for the unexplained absence. You must respond to this email, as part of our safeguarding policy.

When your child returns to school you must provide an absence note on the first day back into school. Medical documents are not required unless you have received medical advice not to participate in elements of the curriculum, such as P.E. lessons. In this case, we are required to have written evidence.

The government have stated that parents/carers should not take their child out of school during term time. The Headteacher or Head of School can authorise leave only under exceptional circumstances and an application should be made in writing at least half a term in advance to head@kechg.org.uk. Please refer to section 8 of our Attendance Policy to find details of when an exceptional leave of absence may be authorised.

Parents/carers should note that the law on attendance requires the school to determine whether an absence is authorised or unauthorised. Any unauthorised absence has to be recorded on the student’s end of year report. We also report to parents/carers on the total number of absences and late arrivals. If we have any concerns you will be contacted by either your child’s Form Tutor or, Head of Year.

Appointments

Wherever possible, appointments should be made out of school hours. If a student has to be absent, or needs to leave school during the school day, parents/carers must send an email or letter in advance. Emails for planned absences should be sent to head@kechg.org.uk. Parents/carers are requested to arrange to meet their children at Reception and students should make their way down at the correct time. Students will be expected to sign themselves out and sign themselves back in on their return to school.

Punctuality

Occasional lateness owing to bad weather conditions or transport problems cannot be avoided, but lateness must be the exception. If a student arrives late to school, they should do the following:

Arrival between 9.00 a.m. and 9.15 a.m.
On a non-assembly morning, go to the form room and explain the reason for being late. The form tutor will issue a late mark in the register. On days when assemblies are taking place, students should report directly to reception and sign in with the member of staff on reception. Students should remain in reception until assembly finishes.

Arrival after 9.15 a.m.
If a student arrives after 9.15 a.m., sign in on the monitor at reception and then report to the lesson. This will be counted as an absence and you will be asked to provide a letter to cover it.