Attendance at Castle Mead Academy

Every Day Matters

At Castle Mead Academy, attendance is about much more than simply being present in school – it is about belonging.

When scholars attend school every day, they strengthen friendships, build confidence, develop positive routines and maximise their opportunities for success both now and in the future.

Good attendance helps children to:

  • Achieve academically
  • Feel safe and supported
  • Build resilience
  • Develop strong routines
  • Feel part of our school community
  • Prepare for adult life

At Castle Mead Academy, we believe:

Attendance is everyone’s responsibility

Attendance is not just the role of the attendance team.

It is a whole-school commitment involving scholars, families, tutors, pastoral teams, teachers, support staff and senior leaders working together to ensure every child feels known, valued and supported.

We are proud to be Growing a Community of Excellence, where scholars are encouraged to:

Be Kind

Work Hard

Build Your Character

Strong attendance helps scholars live these values every single day.

100% Is What We Expect at Castle Mead

We Believe We Can Always Improve

Our expectation is that every scholar attends school every day and arrives on time.

We aim for all scholars to achieve at least 97% attendance, with the long-term ambition of striving for 100% attendance wherever possible.

There are 190 school days in an academic year.

This means there are already 175 days available for weekends, holidays, celebrations, family time and appointments.

Every school day matters.

Every half day matters.

Every lesson matters.

Even what feels like “just one day off” can quickly become a pattern.

 

What Attendance Really Means

A scholar below 90% attendance is classed as Persistently Absent, meaning they are missing significant amounts of learning and are at risk of falling behind academically, socially and emotionally.

  • Attendance is not just a number.
  • It is the difference between confidence and falling behind.
  • Between belonging and becoming disconnected.
  • Between success and missed opportunities.
  • The place for your child to be on a school day is at Castle Mead Academy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Punctuality Matters

Good attendance starts with good punctuality.

We expect all scholars to be on site by 8:25am.

Tutor time begins at 8:30am, and the morning register closes at 9:00am. Scholars line up in year groups on the MUGA to be met by tutors, creating a calm and purposeful start to the day.

A scholar arriving:

  • before 9:00am receives an L code (late but present)
  • after 9:00am receives a U code (late after register closes – unauthorised absence and negatively effects your attendance)

Being late means missing tutor time, key messages, routines and valuable learning. It also disrupts learning for others.

If your child is struggling to arrive on time, please contact us early – we would much rather help solve the problem than allow lateness to become a bigger barrier.

 

How We Support Attendance

At Castle Mead, our first response is always support.

We do not believe attendance improves through punishment alone.

We believe attendance improves when scholars feel:

  • Known
  • Noticed
  • Supported
  • Safe
  • School is somewhere they belong

If attendance begins to decline, we may:

  • Make early contact with families
  • Send attendance letters
  • Invite families to meetings
  • Provide Attendance Champion mentoring
  • Use Attendance & Punctuality reset plans
  • Agree attendance contracts
  • Offer practical support
  • Involve external agencies where needed

Attendance Is About Belonging

We want every scholar to feel:

Known

Valued

Supported

Proud to belong

Through clubs, enrichment, rewards, attendance champions, tutor relationships and strong family partnerships, we work hard to make school somewhere scholars want to be.

Our goal is simple:

To Make School Unmissable

Rewards and Celebration

Good attendance should be recognised and celebrated.

At Castle Mead we reward attendance through:

  • Weekly attendance recognition
  • Tutor group competitions
  • Attendance Cup
  • Attendance Champions
  • Rewards and recognition
  • Celebration events and reward trips

Because showing up matters.

Because every day counts.

Because attendance is everyone’s business.