Attendance Update 1st July 2022

Dear Parent/Carer,

As we approach the end of the current school year, I would again like to thank all parents/ carers for the continuing dramatic improvements in our attendance over recent years. Our strength in this area means that students are safer, attending lessons more often and therefore maximising their possibilities of achieving highly.

Pleasingly, average attendance of students since joining The Edge is now an incredible 24% higher than their previous school baseline prior to joining us, and we continue to improve our attendance year on year.

Can I remind you that as lesson 1 now begins at 9.15am, it is more vital than ever that all students are now in school by this time at the very latest every day. Our free Breakfast Club continues to operate from 8.45am every day, and as always, it is fantastic to see so many students arrive to school early to attend this. For those that are unaware, we offer a free breakfast club where toast, cereal, fruit juices and hot drinks are all provided between 8.45am and 9.15am; we would encourage all students to join the growing numbers of students who are already enjoying this! A reminder too that we would advise parents/carers not to give their child any spending money on weekday mornings as we provide nutritious breakfast, break and lunch food completely free of charge. All of the latest research also clearly shows that consumption of confectionery, fizzy and energy drinks in the morning hampers students’ focus in lessons as well as contributing to poor health generally.

Please remember that any students who arrive in school after 9.15am are late and miss lesson time. A reminder too that we have regretfully had to take court action and fine a minority of parents/ carers over the course of recent years where student attendance and punctuality has not been in line with our expectations. We continue to help and support all families as much as we possibly can, please feel free to contact our Attendance Officer Jas Greene at [email protected] if you are experiencing any difficulties with which we can assist.

Finally, for the next two weeks, starting Monday 4th July, we will be holding an attendance and punctuality challenge, rewarding pupils who have 100% attendance and punctuality all week with a meal of their choice from a local fast-food restaurant during “Friday Brunch”.

Yours faithfully,

Calum Hill,

Senior Line Manager for Attendance