Attendance

This policy is designed to be used in conjunction with the main college policy on attendance; it does not replace any areas mentioned in that document but supplements it, filling the gaps and additional information for our sixth form students.

Tavistock College takes attendance in the Sixth Form very seriously and we acknowledge that good school attendance plays an essential part in academic development for post 16 students. We encourage students to take responsibility for attendance to effectively prepare them for work and higher education progression routes.

Objectives:

• To encourage full attendance and punctuality

• To record and monitor attendance and absenteeism and apply appropriate strategies to       minimise its occurrence

• To acknowledge and reward a successful record of attendance

• To ensure a consistent approach throughout the college

All post 16 courses are intensive and students cannot afford to miss valuable teaching and study time.

As well as timetabled lessons students also have non-contact periods on their timetables designed to be used for private study, homework, and enrichment activities.

Sixth form students should strive to achieve consistently good attendance as poor attendance will affect academic attainment. Students should therefore aim for at least 95% attendance for the year. An exemplary record of attendance says a huge amount about you as a person: that you are dedicated, well-motivated, organised and someone who takes their responsibilities seriously.  Good attendance also plays an important part when applying to higher education establishments or employment.

During the first half of the Autumn term, all year 12 students are expected to be in college full time from morning registration to the end of the college day at 3:00. Following the first half term the following will stand:

Sixth form students are expected to attend school every day, on time for their weekly morning mentoring session and a weekly assembly (8:40 – 9:00), regardless of the number of lessons that they may have that day. Students are expected to attend all lessons punctually and use their non-contact lessons for private study, homework, and enrichment activities.

Students in the Sixth Form (both Year 12 and 13), are not allowed to ‘come and go’ throughout the day. However when they have 2 hours of Study Time together in a block they will be allowed to go home to study, if their parents have signed the home school agreement taking responsibility for their study and as long as they are up to date with their studies. They must be in school ready for their next timetabled lesson. Once in school they may leave the school site at the end of their last lesson. In the instance of teacher absence, work will be left for the students to complete on the college site, either by the teacher themselves (planned absence) or by the appropriate Head of Faculty (unplanned absence). Students are required to complete this work in the room allocated to them, as well as signing the register for that lesson.

As the year progresses, there may be times when collapsed curriculum days, extra lessons or rehearsals are organsied. Students need to ensure that they are available at all times of the school day and attend these extra sessions if they are organised. If extra sessions are organised there will be sufficient notice given.

Sometimes absence is unavoidable. To clarify what the college considers this, acceptable absence, please see table below, this also details the responsibility of the student in the situation:

In all cases of absence above the acceptable level a student will need to collect an S2 form from the sixth form administrator, then once completed hand it back within a minimum of 3 school days before the requested absence.

Sixth Form Attendance Monitoring and Intervention at Tavistock College

STAGE 1 -Teacher intervention with tutor input

1. Warning issued for attendance figures below 95% for lesson or registration OR for absence deemed unacceptable by the subject teacher/mentor.

2. Poor attendance can be raised as a concern by the subject teacher, the mentor or the Director of Sixth Form.

3. The mentor should address the issue of poor attendance during mentor sessions, meeting with the student and give the student a warning about their attendance and contact the parent/carer to make them aware of the situation. Subject teachers should inform the mentor so they can address the absence issue with the student and reinforce the values of good attendance. The Director of Sixth Form must also be informed that a warning has been issued. 

4. Attendance will be monitored closely for two weeks, if attendance is no longer a concern a student will be taken off official monitoring of their attendance 

STAGE 2 - Director of Sixth Form written warning and parental meeting

Failure to meet the requirements set by the attendance agreement.

1. A letter will be sent to the parent/carer of the student informing them of the situation and inviting them to a meeting. The student  will  be  asked  to  meet  with  the  Director  of  Sixth form with their parent/carer. 

2. A Written Warning will be issued.

3. An attendance log will be issued – The student may lose study periods if applicable to catch up on missed work. 

STAGE 3 - Senior attendance panel Intervention

Continued failure to meet attendance requirements.

1. Appropriate disciplinary proceedings will be decided by the Senior Leadership Team and Governing Body panel. The parents/carers of the student will be involved in the process. 

2. Possible request for parents to pay for all exam entries.