To report an absence contact the absence line on 0151 235 1200 by 8:30am on the first day of absence

Supporting Your Child's Success

We believe that regular attendance is key to your child's success, both academically and socially. Every day of learning counts and consistent attendance ensures that students not only reach their academic potential but also fully engage in the enrichment opportunities that help them grow as well-rounded individuals.

This page is designed to provide you with all the essential information about attendance, including how to report absences, the importance of regular attendance and how it impacts your child’s progress. You’ll also find answers to common questions, such as what to do if your child needs time off, how we handle term-time holiday requests and what support is available if your child is struggling to attend school.

We’re here to work together with you to ensure that your child thrives by attending school regularly. We are fully committed to providing exceptional learning experiences for all and this includes a relentless focus on student attendance.

 

Good Attendance
100% 0 days absence in a school year 0 lesson missed
97%   6 days absence in a school year 30 lesson missed
Worrying
90% 19 days absence in a school year 95 lesson missed
85% 29 days absence in a school year 145 lesson missed
Serious Concern
80% 38 days absence in a school year 190 lesson missed
75% 47 days absence in a school year 235 lesson missed
Data shows that regular attendance is crucial for your child's educational success. The fewer days missed, the better their chances of reaching their full potential!

Frequently Asked Questions

When does my child need to be in school?

It’s important for your child to arrive at school on time every day to ensure that they are ready to learn and make the most of their day. The school gates open at 8:00 am for students arrival and to access breakfast from the canteen. The school day starts promptly at 8:25am where all students must be ready for line ups and uniform checks. 

For more information on our school day visit our full school day timetable.

There are 190 educational days in each academic year. For full details of when school is open and closed visit our term dates here.

Attendance means access to enrichment opportunities

Regular attendance isn’t just important for academic success,  it also ensures your child can participate in all the additional enrichment activities we offer. Whether it’s after-school clubs, sports teams or school trips, these experiences help students form new friendships, explore hobbies and support their wellbeing.

By attending school consistently, your child will have the chance to engage in these valuable opportunities and make the most of their time here. Take a look at our Personal Development page to see what they could be part of!
Where can I find support if my child is not attending school?  

Each year group has a dedicated Attendance Officer who will support students with poor attendance to return to school as soon as possible. Attendance Officers can be contacted by telephone on 0151 235 1200 or by email detailed below.

Year Group Attendance Officer Email Address
Year 7 Mrs M Healy m.healy@ahs.omegamat.co.uk
Year 8 Miss J Magee j.magee@ahs.omegamat.co.uk
Year 9 & 10 Mrs C Fletcher c.fletcher@ahs.omegamat.co.uk
Year 11 Mrs K Upton k.upton@ahs.omegamat.co.uk
Year 12 & 13 Mrs M McCarty m.mccarty@ahs.omegamat.co.uk

 

If your child is struggling with attending school, we encourage you to reach out for support as soon as possible. There are a number of people within the school who can help you including our Attendance Teams, Form Tutors and Year Managers. In the first instance, please contact your child’s Attendance Officer  by contacting the school office.

Alternatively, you can seek help from the School Attendance, Behaviour, and Welfare Service at Liverpool City Council's website or visit their Family Help Hubs for further assistance. They can provide advice, information, and strategies tailored to address the reasons for your child's decline in school attendance.
What are the rules for school absences?

We kindly ask that medical and other appointments be scheduled outside of school hours whenever possible to minimise disruption to your child’s learning.

However, we understand that this may not always be feasible. If your child does need to attend an appointment during school time, please notify us in advance, by contacting the school office and providing a note or appointment letter/card as confirmation.

Whenever possible, your child should attend school before their appointment and return to lessons afterward to ensure they miss as little class time as possible

As a parent, you are legally responsible for ensuring that your child receives full-time education. Government regulations make it clear that schools cannot authorise term-time holidays, except in exceptional circumstances.

Absences for holidays can create significant gaps in your child’s learning, which can affect their long-term progress and make it challenging for them to catch up on missed work.

There are plenty of opportunities to plan holidays without disrupting your child's education. If you believe you have exceptional circumstances, please apply in writing to the Headteacher. Each request will be considered individually, and you will be notified of the outcome in writing.

Any leave taken without authorisation will be marked as unauthorised and legal action may be taken by the Local Authority.

We strongly encourage parents to plan family holidays during school breaks and avoid requesting time off during term unless absolutely unavoidable.

Since leave of absence is only granted in exceptional circumstances, it is highly unlikely that your request for a family holiday during term time will be approved.

If your request is refused and you still take your child out of school, you may be committing an offence. Any holidays taken without authorisation will be marked as unauthorised and legal action may be taken by the Local Authority.

If your child needs to be absent from school, please contact us as early as possible to explain the reason. If we don’t hear from you, we will contact you on the first morning of their absence to find out why.

You can request a ‘leave of absence’ for your child, which grants permission for them to be away from school. This request must be made in advance and will only be approved in exceptional circumstances.

The Headteacher will make the final decision on whether to approve the leave and how long your child can be absent. This decision will be based on the specific facts and circumstances of your request.

When you register your child at school, you have a legal duty to ensure your child attends that school regularly.

This means that your child must attend every day that the school is open, unless:

  • Your child is too ill to attend that day
  • You have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on that day due to exceptional circumstances
  • Your child cannot attend school on that day because it is a day you are taking part in religious observance
  • Your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it is not available on that day or has not been provided yet
  • You are a gypsy/traveller family with no fixed abode and you are required to travel for work that day meaning your child cannot attend their usual school. In most circumstances, however, your child is required to attend another school temporarily during such absences.

These are the only circumstances where schools can permit your child to be absent.

It can be difficult to decide whether your child is too unwell for school. There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These advise when children should be kept off school and when they should not be.

Here’s some guidance to help:

  • High Temperature: Keep your child at home until their temperature returns to normal.
  • Coughs and Colds: Minor coughs and colds are fine, but if they have a high temperature, keep them home.
  • Vomiting or Diarrhoea: Keep your child off school until they've been symptom-free for 48 hours.
  • Chickenpox: Stay home until all spots have crusted over (usually about 5 days).
  • Head Lice, Cold Sores, Conjunctivitis: No need to miss school, but inform the school and encourage good hygiene.
  • Scarlet Fever or Impetigo: Stay home for 24-48 hours after starting antibiotics.

For further information visit the NHS website Is my child too ill for school? - NHS

If your child is unable to attend school, please contact us on 0151 235 1200 by 8:30am on the first day of absence to let us know the reason for their absence.

If your child remains unwell and cannot return to school, we ask that you provide us with an update and an estimated return date by calling the school again. Keeping us informed helps ensure we can support your child’s learning during their absence.

We operate a first-day response system, so if we do not hear from you, we will contact you on the first morning of their absence to find out why.
Why does attendance matter?

We believe that regular attendance is the key to academic achievement and personal growth.

Academic Success: Regular attendance ensures that students are present for important lessons, discussions, and assignments. It directly correlates with improved grades and a better understanding of the curriculum.

Skill Development: School is not just about academics, it's also about developing essential life skills like time management, responsibility, and teamwork. Consistent attendance helps nurture these skills for all our students and young people.

Building Relationships: School is a place to make friends and build valuable connections. Regular attendance allows students to form bonds with their peers and teachers, creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

Preparation for the Future: Punctuality and reliability are highly regarded qualities in the professional world. Full school attendance teaches students the importance of these attributes, preparing them for success in their future careers.

Our aim is for 100% attendance, however school attendance should not fall below 97% This equates to 6 school days missed, or 30 lessons, in any academic year. It is also important to arrive at school on time, because learning begins to suffer if late arrivals are frequent.

Regular school attendance is essential for academic success. National research highlights a clear link between absence and lower achievement. Here’s what the data shows:

  • Missing just 10% of school (around 19 days in a year) can result in your child achieving one grade lower in their GCSEs across all subjects.
  • If attendance falls to 85%, this could lead to a drop of two GCSE grades or more.
  • Pupils with better attendance at primary (KS2) and secondary (KS4) levels tend to have higher academic achievement.
  • In 2019, pupils who did not meet the expected standards in reading, writing, and maths had an absence rate of 4.7%. By comparison, pupils who achieved the expected standards had an absence rate of 3.5%, and those who achieved the highest standards had an absence rate of just 2.7%.
  • Pupils who failed to achieve grade 4 or above in English and maths at GCSE in 2019 had an absence rate of 8.8%, while those who achieved a grade 4 had an absence rate of 5.2%, and those with top grades (9 to 5) had an absence rate of 3.7%.
  • Overall, the more school missed, the lower the achievement by the end of the key stage.
  • For example, at KS2, 83.9% of pupils with no absences achieved the expected standard, compared to just 40.2% of pupils who were persistently absent.
  • At KS4, 83.7% of pupils with perfect attendance achieved grades 9 to 4 in English and maths, compared to only 35.6% of pupils who were persistently absent.

This data shows that regular attendance is crucial for your child's educational success. The fewer days missed, the better their chances of reaching their full potential!

*Data taken from The Education Hub (Government blog)

Myth  Fact 

Individual schools and trusts make their own attendance rules.

 Our attendance policies and procedures are developed directly from the government guidance document “Working together to improve school attendance”. In addition, the law clearly defines the responsibilities of parents/carers, schools and local authorities
Authorised absences do not count against a pupil’s overall attendance figure. Authorised absences are ultimately absences from school and must be recorded as such. This means the absence will count against a pupil’s overall attendance for that academic year. The difference between authorised and unauthorised absence is that if the school authorises the pupil absence, then they have accepted the reason which has been given and they will not take any further action.
As long as a parent/carer notifies the school of an absence, the absence will always be authorised. Legislation clearly states that it is the school who decides whether an absence is authorised or not. Providing notice of an absence does not in itself mean it meets the threshold for authorising said absence. School will consider each absence on a case-by-case basis and will always base the decision on government guidance.
Being late has no effect on a pupil’s attendance. Schools are legally required to take attendance registers at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. If a pupil arrives at school or class after this register has closed, they will be marked with a “U” as per government guidance. A “U” code will show that the pupil was in school but will be classed as an absence and count against their overall attendance figure. Pupils arriving on time is incredibly important.
Headteachers can choose to permit term time holidays or leave of absence for any reason if they so choose. The law which governs school attendance states Headteachers may not grant leave of absence during term-time unless there are exceptional circumstances; “An application for leave of absence should (and from certain schools must) not be granted unless it is made in advance by a parent the pupil normally lives with and the school is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances based on the individual facts and circumstance of the case which justify the leave. Where a leave of absence is granted, the school will determine the number of days a pupil can be absent from school. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the headteacher’s discretion.”  Where absence is not granted in advance, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised ,and parents are subject to a penalty notice and/or other legal interventions.
Individual schools and trusts decide on an ad-hoc basis when to issue penalty notices for non-attendance. Legal intervention is the responsibility of the local authority in which the school resides. Schools are legally required to share attendance data and in consultation, together they will decide if legal action is required.
The money from penalty notices goes to the school. Any monies generated from penalty notices are used by the local authority to cover the legal and administrative costs of the process. Any monies remaining is reinvested in local education services, no money goes to the school.
I should always keep my child off school for any type of illness. If you have a mild illness, it can be tricky to know whether you should be in school or not. Certain contagious illnesses require you to stay at home, but often children can and should attend school. For guidance see the NHS website. If in doubt, speak to the Office / Student Services, please do not just assume your child should be off school.
80% is good right… it normally is in a test? Pupils who attend school 80% of the time will miss the equivalent of 1 whole school year at secondary school (over 5 years) and nearly 1.5 school years at primary school (over 7 years)

 

It is our desire to work closely with our students and families to enable positive school attendance for all. Our school successes are based on positive relationships and the critical partnership between home and school.

The table below outlines the government's expectations of all stakeholders:

Parents  Schools Trustees and Governors Local Authorities
Ensure their child attends every day the school is open, except when a statutory reason applies. Have a clear, easily understandable school attendance policy on the school website. Take an active role in attendance improvement, support their school(s) to  prioritise attendance, and work together with leaders to set whole school cultures. Have a strategic approach to improving attendance for the whole area and make it a key focus of the council.
Notify the school as soon as possible when their child has to be unexpectedly absent (e.g. sickness). Develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of good attendance. Ensure school leaders fulfil expectations and statutory duties. Have a School Attendance Support Team that works with all schools in their area to remove area -wide barriers to attendance. 
Only request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and do so in advance.  Accurately complete admission and attendance registers. Have a robust daily process to follow up absence.  Ensure school staff receive training on attendance.  Provide each school with a named point of contact in the School Attendance Support Team who can support with queries and advice.
Book any medical appointments outside of the school day, where possible. Have a dedicated senior leader with overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance.  Champion the importance of attendance. Offer opportunities for all schools in the area to share effective practice. 

 
Policies and Statutory Penalties

Our Attendance Policy & Attendance Charter details our expectations and procedures for pupil attendance. To read the policy in full click here.

Penalty notices are considered when there has been 10 sessions of unauthorised absences in a 10 week period. There are 2 sessions per day (am and pm). 

Detailed information about penalty notices can be found below. 

 

PENALTY NOTICE FINES FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE HAVE CHANGED

When is a Fixed Penalty Notice considered?

The Government have introduced fixed penalty notices for school attendance. Penalty Notice Fines are considered when there has been 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10 week period. There are 2 sessions per day (am and pm).

The following statutory changes came into effect on Monday 19th August 2024

First Offence

The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for term leave or irregular attendance, the amount will be £160 per child (if paid within 21 days the rate reduces to £80 per child).

Second Offence

The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for term leave or irregular attendance, the amount will be £160 per child, no reduced rate will be offered.

Third Offence

The third time a Penalty Notice is issued for term leave or irregular attendance, a Penalty Notice will not be issued. The case will be presented at the Magistrates Court. The fine for this could be up to £2500 per child. Cases found guilty in court can show up on parents/ carers DBS certificate, due to a failure to safeguard a child's education.

 

We would like to clarify that fixed penalty notices for poor attendance are not issued by the school. These notices are issued by the local authority in accordance with government legislation. Additionally, the collection of fines and any associated payments are handled solely by the local authority. The school does not receive any of the money collected through these penalties.

Further guidance can be found here.