Attendance Policy

Sixth Form Attendance – September 2026

1. Absence of a Sixth Form student should be reported to Miss O’Toole, as opposed to the Attendance Officer/Attendance Line.

Miss O’Toole can be contacted on extension number 1231 or by email at M.OToole@thamesview.kent.sch.uk

2. The threshold for marking ‘O’ or ‘I’ will be changing:

• If a student’s attendance is below 95%, further absence will be marked as ‘O’ unless medical evidence has been provided. The threshold has previously been 90%.
• If attendance is above 95% it can be marked as ‘I’

3. The reasons for absence listed below are no longer considered to be adequate and will not be authorised, unless there are special circumstances which should be shared with the school:

• Non-specific illness e.g., unwell or poorly – specific/detailed reason for absence should be provided
• Not reporting the absence
• Absence of a student due to a sibling being unwell
• Oversleeping
• Confusion over school dates
• Not wanting to attend a school trip or Flourish Friday
• Student’s, or family members birthday
• Family holidays
• Medical or Dental Appointments * (see below)

*Medical or Dental Appointments

• Parents should refrain from booking appointments within school hours.
• If an appointment during the school day is unavoidable, parents should aim to book appointments during the student’s ‘free periods’
• Student should attend before the appointment wherever possible and return to school afterwards unless they have no scheduled lessons for the remainder of the day
• Medical evidence should be shared with the school. This may be in the form of an appointment card obtained when attending the appointment, a hospital letter or text, or a prescription issued at the appointment by the GP
• These measures will allow the absence to be authorised
• If medical evidence for the appointment is not provided or an unjustified period of time off is taken, the absence will be unauthorised

4. Regularly scheduled appointments/block bookings to access NHS Mental Health support will be authorised. Please ensure confirmation of appointment times and duration of appointments is shared with Miss O’Toole. Support accessed privately should be arranged for times outside of school hours.
5. Driving Tests, including Theory Tests, that result in absence from school, will be authorised, provided they do not prevent the student from attending an official exam– Booking confirmation should be shared with Miss O’Toole.
6. Regularly scheduled Driving Lessons should be arranged to take place outside of school hours or during students ‘free periods.’ Missed lessons will result in a half day unauthorised absence.
7. Interviews for employment or training will be authorised – Confirmation should be shared with Miss O’Toole.
8. Absence from timetabled lessons, to attend paid employment/work shifts will not be authorised under any circumstances.

Please contact Miss O’Toole to discuss any planned absence not highlighted above as, ‘special circumstances’ may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

End of Year 12 Attendance/Progress/Engagement Reviews

At the end of Year 12, if students are presenting as a concern with regards to attendance/ punctuality/ truancies to lessons; students will attend a meeting with a member of the Sixth Form pastoral team to discuss next steps (i.e. monitoring period during Term 1 in Year 13). Parents/ carers may attend this meeting if they wish to.

Students who have been highlighted as a concern during Year 12 and have not improved, may be unable to progress into Year 13 in their chosen subject/s if they are evidenced to be failing