The Importance of Being Present
Schools place a lot of emphasis on school attendance – and for good reason. As a parent, of course you want your child to attend school regularly, but having the odd day off here and there doesn’t matter does it?
In fact taking too many “ad hoc” days off can still have a major impact on a child’s success and can potentially hold them back educationally, socially and personally. Some of the stats might surprise, or even shock you.
Whilst the government would expect every child to achieve 100% attendance rate, 95% attendance in school is still considered good. But even at 95% attendance, your child will have still missed 9 days of learning, which is equivalent to 50 hours of teaching. With 90% attendance, that doubles to nearly 100 hours of teaching! That’s a lot to catch up on, especially if your child is facing SATs or GCSEs and A-levels.
Data from a government report in 2019 showed that 84% of Key Stage 2 pupils who had 100% attendance achieved the expected standard, compared to 40% of pupils who were persistently absent across the key stage.* And that was before the repercussions of Covid and lockdown, which impacted a whole generation of children and their education.
As a school with selective entry standards, we see first hand what can happen to those who don’t attend school regularly. A child considered to be bright and talented can quickly fall behind, especially in literacy and maths, but also miss out socially and personally. Relationships with friends can suffer, alongside their academic performance which can impact their mental health. It’s a vicious circle which can be hard to break.
Whilst we don’t have all the answers, by offering an environment where girls are encouraged, inspired and love to learn, attendance does become easier to manage.
A parent of two daughters at our school explains, “They love going to school and have seized the extensive opportunities, academic and vocational, available to them.”
If you’d like to find out more about how your daughter will thrive at a school made just for her, book now for an Experience Day.
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