Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance

REGULAR ATTENDANCE

It is vital that your child attends school as regularly as possible. There is a very strong link between excellent attendance and high achievement at school. That is why, at St Thomas the Apostle College, we encourage all our students to aim for 100% attendance.

The academic, social and well-being benefits of attending school regularly:

• Better Learning: Regular attendance helps children keep up with lessons and understand material.
• Steady Progress: Attending school every day means students don’t fall behind and can stay on track.
• Higher Grades: Being in school regularly gives children more chances to improve their marks.
• Increased Participation: Regular attendance helps children get involved in lessons and extracurricular activities.
• Extra Support: Children who attend regularly have better access to teachers and extra help when needed.
• Improved Social Skills: Being in school helps children make friends and learn how to work with others.
• Sense of Belonging: Attending regularly helps children feel part of the school community.
• Teamwork: Working with classmates in lessons and extracurricular activities builds teamwork skills.
• Emotional Stability: Routine helps children feel secure and less anxious.
• Good Habits: Regular attendance builds important life skills like time management and responsibility.

Frequent absences can add up quickly and be harmful to your child’s progress at school.

If your child is absent, please ensure it is for a genuine illness or emergency only. Please contact us as soon as possible on the first day of absence, and each subsequent day, by phoning0207 639 0106 or byemailingto report the absence. Students should return to school as soon as possible after their period of illness. Please try to make all medical or dental appointments after school or in the school holidays where possible. If an appointment during school time is unavoidable, please send your son/daughter into school before and/or after the appointment. The school requires a copy of the medical appointment card/letter in order to authorise the time away from school.

PUNCTUALITY

We expect all students at St Thomas the Apostle College to attend school on time every day to maximise their learning potential. Students are expected to be in school by 8.35 a.m.

Any student who arrives late will be issued with a 20-minute tutor detention on the same day. Students who are repeatedly late will be subject to further sanctions including Head of Year and Saturday detentions and a period of punctuality monitoring by way of early 8.15 a.m. Sign-in at school.