At Christ’s College, we set an expectation for all students to maintain their attendance at 100%. Throughout the school year, we recognise and reward excellent and improving attendance. The table below highlights the impact that absence has on children missing out on valuable lesson time. Higher attendance supports outstanding GCSE results, with national data indicating that: 

• 80% of students achieved at least 5 GCSEs, including Maths and English, when attendance was 96% or above. 

• 53% of students achieved 5 GCSEs, including Maths and English, when attendance was below 90%. 

Absence Impact on the School Year 

All students will receive and discuss their attendance weekly with their tutor. Students must take responsibility for recording their attendance within their planner. Parents/carers are encouraged to monitor their child’s attendance and to work with the Attendance Team to maintain excellent attendance or collaborate for improvement. 

The Attendance Team works closely with parents/carers to support excellent attendance, acknowledging that on occasion, children may not be able to attend due to illness, bereavement, or medical appointments. We ask all parents/carers to contact the Attendance Team at the earliest opportunity to report absences either by telephone or email. 

Attendance Officer: Miss M. Gaughan 
Family Support Lead: Mrs K. Baggott 

We encourage all appointments to be arranged outside of the school day. However, if children need to leave the College for a medical appointment, parents/carers are required to provide evidence (e.g., appointment card or letter), which the student must present before being authorised to leave. Where possible, we ask all parents/carers to collect their children when leaving for an appointment. If the student is to leave the College on their own, we will seek authorisation from parents/carers before they are allowed to leave. 

As we aim to work collaboratively with parents/carers to maintain excellent attendance for all our students, there are occasions where we must work with Together for Children (Sunderland Local Authority Children Services). For students and parents/carers where Attendance Support has been unsuccessful and attendance continues to be of concern, we are obliged to refer any case of unauthorised absence to the Local Authority Attendance Team. This can result in a Fixed Penalty Notice. 

We are always available for telephone contact, email, and face-to-face discussions for any concerns regarding attendance or additional support. 

Holidays in Term Time 

Christ’s College will not authorise holidays during term time. We recognise that financial pressures and work commitments sometimes make it difficult to take holidays outside of school time. However, we ask for your full support in ensuring that your child is in school all of the time to access an outstanding education. 

If there are exceptional circumstances, applications can be made to the Principal in advance. However, please be mindful that parents/carers can be fined for taking their child on holiday during term time.