The Importance of school attendance
Wren Academy has high expectations of attendance for every student from the moment they join the Academy. Students are provided with high quality provision at Wren Academy and therefore attendance is necessary to ensure that your child benefits fully from the learning opportunities on offer.
Students who attend the Academy regularly will achieve their full potential. Not only does school provide high quality learning experiences to enrich children’s lives, but also provides numerous opportunities for students to develop social skills and to grow into well-rounded individuals.
Having good attendance means students will benefit greatly from these aspects of school life. However, students with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both the primary and secondary phase. Missing school leaves students vulnerable to falling behind. Not only does this affect academic attainment, but those with poor attendance can often feel left out, find it hard to make friends, feel insecure and lack confidence. Their overall attitude to learning can be inhibited; behavioural problems may develop and their health and wellbeing may be affected.
The school day
The Academic day is split into morning and afternoon sessions. If your child is absent for the whole day this is classed as two sessions.
What to do if your child cannot attend school
If your child is going to be absent, you must inform us by 8.35am on the first day of absence and every day thereafter. Absences should reported by email using the appropriate email address:
Years 7 – 11 - attendance@wrenacademy.org
Sixth Form – sixthformattendance@wrenacademy.org
Primary – primaryattendance@wrenacademy.org
Please state the following in your email:
Your child’s full name
Your child’s year group and tutor group
Reason for absence
Emails about attendance should not be sent to First Contact or direct to individual staff members, as they will take longer to be processed and may result in you receiving a truancy text.
Medical Appointments
Other than emergency medical appointments, please arrange for appointments to take place outside of school hours.
If this is unavoidable, please ensure we have at least 24 hours’ notice of appointments to allow us to process them and make arrangements for your child to leave on time.
Notification of medical appointments should be emailed to attendance@wrenacademy.org.
For safeguarding reasons, students will not be permitted to leave school if we have not been informed by you that they have an appointment. When notifying us of an appointment your child needs to attend, please include the following information:
- Your child’s full name
- Your child’s Year Group
- Your child's form group
- Type of appointment (medical, dental etc)
- Date of the appointment
- Time of the appointment
- What time your child needs to leave the Academy or time they will arrive at school
- Whether or not your child is due to return to school after their appointment
Your child will be given a slip on the morning of their appointment, which they should show to the teacher whose lesson they need to leave early, and this will allow them to leave the lesson and sign out at the specified time.
Please note that time off school for appointments will count against your child’s attendance record.
Leave of Absence in Term Time
Holidays are not permitted during term time and, if taken, will be recorded as an unauthorised absence on the student’s permanent record.
Any request for student leave of absence in term time will be considered by the Executive Principal or Primary Headteacher. In making this decision the school will consider the circumstances of each application individually, including any previous pattern of leave in term time and the attendance record to date.
Where a student’s attendance is already below 97% permission is unlikely to be given.
If you do need to request leave of absence during term time please complete the form below. Any additional information or permission forms need to be downloaded with the below form or emailed in to attendance@wrenacademy.org
You will be notified of the decision within five working school days.
Contact Information
020 8492 6000 please press option 1
020 8492 6000 ext. 6001
