19th April 2024
Dear Parent/Carer,
RE: Attendance, Punctuality and MCAS App – Summer Term
The Summer Term has begun in earnest, despite not being accompanied by the best of weather, sadly! The GCSE countdown is now on (19 days left as of today’s date); revision should be well underway, and I expect that a great deal of what was once ‘free time’, is being spent using GCSE Pod, Seneca Learning and other revision and support resources to revisit and refresh learning in preparation for the exams. The Prom is also on the horizon for Y11 students, and the PTFA have been organising appointments to enable some students to try on and choose what to wear from a selection of pre-loved dresses. The PTFA raise funds for the school to enhance student experiences, by running a variety of events for the community to enjoy. If you are interested in joining the PTFA and are keen to offer some of your time to help raise some much-needed funds, please contact the school office for more information. We would be delighted to hear from you.
At Erdington, we have always been very proud of our student attendance record. But we need your support to maintain these high standards. You will already know that appointments should ideally be made outside of school hours, that holidays during term time are unlikely to be authorised unless there are truly exceptional circumstances because every day of school missed, has a potential impact on GCSE grade outcomes at the end of Y11. Current National absence data is below 10% which is the equivalent of less than 10 days off school. If your child has already been absent for 10 days or more then they need to make every possible effort to be in school every day for the remainder of this term.
The Government have produced guidance linked to whether your child should be kept off school, which can be found here: Should I keep my child off school checklist poster (publishing.service.gov.uk). The list is quite short as you might imagine and applies to illnesses like chicken pox, measles, and whooping cough. Any more minor concerns can be dealt with in school through regular monitoring/review, dosing of paracetamol, access to water or fresh air for a time or even referral to a qualified First Aider if required. Students who feel a bit under the weather in the morning, often improve and feel significantly better once they are active and joining in with learning and social activities at school. It is very rarely the contrary.
Punctuality to school is also vitally important. If your child is 15 minutes late to school every day, then the time lost from the classroom is the equivalent of 10 school days across the year, which is an alarming statistic. Please revisit the importance of being on time to school with your child and when you receive a text notification that they have not managed to meet this basic expectation, please challenge them at home about their whereabouts and why they were late.
The poster below, highlights the educational impact of every minute lost through poor punctuality or absence. What is not illustrated is the recent research that shows those students who miss more than 10 school days annually in Y10 and then again in Y11…
… received worse GCSE grades than their peers who missed less than 10 days. Only 36% passed 5 or more GCSEs (including English and maths) compared to 78% of their counterparts
who were regularly in school. This highlights the incredible difference that excellent attendance and punctuality can make in reality.
Do you know if your child has missed more than 10 days of school already this year?
Do you know how many times they have been late?
The quick and easy way to check is to use the My Child at School (MCAS app), which is a portal that gives you exclusive access to your child’s attendance and punctuality, key academic dates, and your child’s academic performance. You can also check and update the personal details the school holds for you and your child. In short, it enables you to track everything in one place to support your child at school – a one-stop-shop. If you haven’t already, please download the app. When it was launched initially, you would have received log in information via email; if you have lost this information and would like to request additional login details, please contact: enquiry@erdington.fmat.co.uk
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs Wright
Vice Principal
