Attendance

Reporting absence

​In the rare occasion that a student cannot attend school, parents, carers or guardians should contact the College for each day of non-attendance. 

Please report any non-attendance by 7:45am.  Contact may be made via email, at attendance@okehamptoncollege.devon.sch.uk.
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We comply with DfE guidance and will not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.  Parents, carers and guardians should note that such leave is very unlikely to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday.  Parents, carers or guardians wishing to request that a future absence or period of absence be authorised should complete this form.

Our expectations

​We have high expectations of student attendance and are committed to ensuring high levels of attendance for all.  We believe that all our students deserve the opportunity to secure qualifications with the highest grades, so that they may forge opportunities for themselves in the future equitable with those forged by students across the country -- and we know that strong attendance is necessary for this to be achieved.  And this has become even more important given the significant and unprecedented disruption to our students' education caused by the coronavirus pandemic.  To this end, our attendance policies, procedures and initiatives are rigorously implemented throughout the academic year.  
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​Why strong attendance is important

Strong attendance is not simply a matter of compliance—it is a critical driver of academic success. Even small improvements in attendance can lead to meaningful gains in achievement, while persistent absence can have a profound and lasting negative impact on outcomes.

Recent national evidence continues to show a clear and significant relationship between attendance and attainment.

The Department for Education’s most up‑to‑date research (2025), based on national data from the 2022–23 academic year, confirms that higher attendance is consistently associated with better academic outcomes across all pupil groups. [gov.uk]

Small differences in attendance can have a substantial impact:

• Year 11 pupils with attendance of 95–100% have nearly double the odds of achieving a grade 5 in English and Maths GCSE compared to pupils attending 90–95% of the time [educationh...log.gov.uk], [schoolsweek.co.uk]
• Missing just 10 additional days of school halves the likelihood of achieving these key GCSE outcomes [educationh...log.gov.uk]

The impact becomes even more pronounced with persistent absence:

• Pupils who are persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions) are less than half as likely to achieve pass (level 4) English and Maths at GCSE [health.org.uk]
• At GCSE, 83.7% of pupils with no absence achieve grade 9–4 in English and Maths, compared to just 35.6% of persistently absent pupils [health.org.uk]

Post‑pandemic analysis reinforces how critical attendance is in examination years:

• Only 5% of severely absent pupils (missing over 50% of sessions) achieve five good GCSEs, compared to 78% of those with strong attendance [schoolsweek.co.uk]
• Encouragingly, pupils whose attendance improves show better outcomes, demonstrating that attendance interventions can quickly make a difference [schoolsweek.co.uk]

The Education Endowment Foundation also highlights that poor attendance is strongly linked to lower attainment and wider educational disadvantage, particularly for vulnerable pupils. This reinforces that improving attendance is one of the most effective ways schools can raise outcomes and reduce gaps. [educatione...ion.org.uk]

Key evidence based impacts of attendance

• 95%+ attendance
• Nearly 2× more likely to achieve Grade 5 in English and Maths [schoolsweek.co.uk], [health.org.uk]
• 90–95% attendance
• Missing ~10 days halves the likelihood of achieving key GCSE grades [schoolsweek.co.uk]
• Persistent absence (90% and below)
• Pupils are less than half as likely to pass English and Maths [schoolsweek.co.uk]
• Severe absence (~50%)
• Only ~5% achieve five good GCSEs, compared to ~78% with strong attendance [educatione...ion.org.uk]
• Earnings impact
• Persistent absence associated with ~£10,000 lower earnings by age 28
• Each additional day missed linked to ~£750 lifetime earnings loss [schoolsweek.co.uk]

​Monitoring students' attendance

​Given the clear impact that students' attendance has on their achievement, and thus, on their future life chances, we monitor our students' attendance closely and regularly, and intervene quickly. Our students' attendance is banded as shown in the 'Attendance Diamond' below, in terms of  relative risks to achievement.  We would not expect any student’s attendance to fall below 96%, because students whose attendance remains between 96% and 100% are in the best position to achieve the highest grades in their GCSE and A-Level examinations. We intervene early and quickly if attendance falls: Students are progressively less likely to achieve good grades at GCSE the more their attendance falls. 
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​Our Response to Students' Absence 

We adopt a gradual escalation of intervention, as outlined below:
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• Text message and/or email home for all unnotified absences from attendance officer – Tine Casbolt
• Tutor conversation with Tutor contact home

• Referral to the Education welfare and inclusion officer (EWIL) – Jaye McDonald​​

It is important that parents, carers and guardians understand that failure to ensure regular and punctual school attendance may result in the issuing of a penalty notice under Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, and/or prosecution under section 444 of the Education Act 1996. Information about School Attendance Orders can be accessed here.
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Early Help