St Leonard's

Every moment counts.

We want our pupils to benefit from the highest quality education to enable them to excel. We know that pupils who attend well have the best chances of success academically and socially. They are more likely to achieve well in examinations and assessments and more likely to form secure and lasting friendships.

This can only be achieved it pupils are in school regularly, and on time.

We have a meticulously planned curriculum which sets out exactly what pupils should be taught at every stage of the year. When pupils are absent, they risk developing large gaps in their learning.

Excellent attendance is everyone’s business and improving attendance is in everyone’s interests. We aim to secure good attendance by building strong relationships with pupils, parents and carers so that we can support them to reduce any barriers to school attendance.

Reporting an absence

Schools are only permitted to grant Leave of Absence to pupils in exceptional circumstances. These would include, for example, bereavement, attendance at funerals and representing sports teams at regional / national level. School cannot authorise holidays in term time. 

A pupil’s attendance will directly affect their achievement and wellbeing in school. Evidence shows that a pupil’s progress is significantly negatively affected if their attendance falls below 90% and their GCSE attainment is likely to drop by an entire grade. We therefore ask all pupils to aim for 96-97% minimum attendance.

Please endeavour to book all medical and dental appointments out of school hours, and where this is not possible, please ensure that pupils attend for the remainder of the day. 

If you do need to report a pupil absence, please use the contact form which will be sent to the school’s attendance team. It may be the case that evidence (for example, medical evidence) will need to be attached in order for any absence to be authorised.