Attendance & Abscence
Please refer to the school's Covid-19 page if you think your child might have symptoms.
The school is open from 8:00 am and students should not be on site before this. Staff supervision starts at 8:20 am and students arriving on site before this time will be unsupervised.
YOUR CHILD SHOULD BE ON THE SCHOOL SITE AT 8:20 am ready for lessons starting at 8:30 am.
If you drop off or collect your child by car at the start or end of the school day, please do not come onto the school site and stay away from the school entrance to avoid congestion.
Research has proven that students who do not regularly attend school do not reach their potential. The law also requires all parents to ensure their child regularly attends school.
The school deems that regular attendance should be 100%. Good attendance is above 95%. Everything else is classed as poor attendance and the Government class students with attendance below 90% as ‘persistently absent’.
In the case of notification by telephone, a written supporting explanation should be sent to the attendance team. This is a reliable way of ensuring the absence is genuine.
In cases where absences remain unexplained, parents will be contacted by phone, or letter or may receive a visit from either the school pastoral team or the local authority Education School Liaison Officer.
The school has an automated messaging system which will inform you if your child is absent from school and you have not informed us of this. Please make sure you contact the school when receiving this message to let us know the reason why your child is not present.
Please note that parental replies are free of charge.
Attendance Manager - Mrs Sara Groves
(SFAGrovesSa@tonbridgefederation.co.uk
01732 353544 Ext. 244)
The Attendance Manager and Educational Welfare Officer may pursue ‘persistent absence’ with parents as it is a welfare concern.
If your child is absent, contact us EVERY MORNING DURING THE ABSENCE BY 8:00 am by:
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TELEPHONE – 01732 778600 (direct line)
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EMAIL – admin@tonbridgefederation.co.uk
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Or by using the messaging service on the MyEd App.
Access To Period Products:
Having periods should not be a barrier to anyone coming to school. Period products, such as pads and tampons, are available in school for all who need them and when they need them.
If you need pads or tampons, they are available from the Medical Room (open every break and lunchtime), Mrs Swinnerton's Office or your Head of Year.
If you do not want to ask them face to face, you can email them to ask for some.
Year 7 - Mrs O’Hare
Year 8 - Mrs Miller
Year 9 - Mrs Nicholson
Year 10 - Miss Harding
Year 11 - Mrs Ala
Sixth Form - Ms Allen
Illness during the school day
If a student feels unwell during the day then they will be referred to a first aider. Students should not make contact with parents/carers directly when feeling unwell. No medication of any sort can be given to him/her. The first aider will take a view on whether the student should be sent home or is well enough to return to their lesson.
Parents/carers must ensure we have an emergency telephone number on which they, or another responsible adult, can be contacted. The school’s medical room is intended for first aid treatment, a place to rest for a short period (not prolonged stays), or a place for students awaiting collection who have consent from the first aider to go home.
Any accident or emergency will be dealt with by an appointed first aider in a customary way. Should it be necessary to call an ambulance, every effort will be made to contact parents immediately but, failing this, a first aider or another member of staff will normally accompany the ambulance to the hospital.
NO MEDICATION WILL BE GIVEN WITHOUT THE WRITTEN AUTHORITY OF THE PARENT/GUARDIAN. Students using prescribed inhalers for asthma may, of course, keep these with them. If your child needs to take medication during the day, this should be left in the first aid room, in its original packaging and in a named bag for safekeeping.
Lateness
For all students, the school day starts at 8:30 am. STUDENTS ARRIVING LATE BUT BEFORE 8:45 am should sign in at Student Services. After 8:45 am, latecomers should report to the visitor reception. If a student is late to other lessons during the school day, they will receive a teacher's signature on their Conduct Card.
For those who are persistently late without a valid reason and contact with parents is not resulting in any improvement, the Local Authority will become involved.
Family Holidays
Family holidays will not be authorised during term time unless in exceptional circumstances. Unauthorised holidays will be reported to the School Liaison Officer and will result in a parental fine for all of the priority contacts on our database.
Medical & Dental Appointments
Whenever possible, please try to make appointments outside of the school day. If students need to miss part of the day to attend an appointment, they must bring a letter to their Head of Year, where they will be signed out and issued with a school pass. Only one session will be authorised. On return, they must report to reception to be signed back in. Students should not leave the site without signing out.