Attendance Update as at January 18th 2023
Dear Parent/Carer,
As we approach the midpoint of the academic year I would again like to thank all parents/ carers for the fantastic standards of attendance that we see in school here at The Edge. Our strength in this area means that students are safe, do not miss lessons and they therefore maximise their chances of achieving highly.
Pleasingly, average attendance of students since joining us is now an incredible 23% higher than their previous school baseline prior to joining us. We are happy to add that punctuality has also improved this year with a 51% decrease in the amount of learning time lost.
I would like to remind you that as Lesson 1 now begins at 9.30am, 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 9.30am; we would encourage all students to join the growing numbers of students who are already enjoying this!
Don’t forget 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. Furthermore, pupils that arrive before 9.25am will receive a cereal bar of their choice on arrival. All of the latest research 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 9.30am are late and miss lesson time. 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, a reminder that as per the term dates we have issued previously, our staff training days this term take place on Wednesday February 1st and Friday March 31st. School is closed to students on these dates.
Yours faithfully,
Calum Hill,
Senior Line Manager for Attendance