Attendance

Reporting an absence

If your child is unwell, please let us know by 8.40am on each and every day they are unwell.

You can do this from the following ways:

By emailing attendance@astreacottenham.org with your child’s full name, form, and reason for absence.
By using the My Child At School (MCAS) app. More information about this will follow once students are officially on roll at CVC.
By phoning the absence line on 01954 288944 (Option 1) and leaving a message. Please state your child’s full name, their form, and the reason for the absence.

If your child has a medical or dental appointment, please let us know in advance by any of the above methods or by sending a note in advance. We ask for any appointment cards, letters or slips to be handed in to show as evidence of the appointment. If your child is absent for an extended period of time, or is poorly regularly, then the school will ask for a doctor’s note.

Please do not use the Astrea App to report absences as this is has been discontinued.

What is good attendance?

To benefit fully from the teaching, care and guidance – and the many opportunities – provided each day at CVC, students must be regular and reliable attenders.

It is well understood that there is a strong link between excellent attendance and academic attainment (almost three quarters of students who have over 95% attendance achieve within the top bracket of performance at GCSE – DFE 2012). We also know that Sixth Form and post-16 College and Apprenticeship applications place significant value on a track record of excellent attendance.
There are also significant benefits to excellent attendance beyond academic outcomes. Excellent attendance builds confidence and self-esteem, it supports relationships (including friendships) and opportunities to get involved and stay involved in lots of exciting and inspiring aspects of community life (including extra-curricular clubs and sports, music, languages and the expressive arts). At a time when all students have relatively recently ‘lost’ this face-to-face experience in school through ‘lockdown’ and ‘isolation’, being in school each and every day takes on an added significance.
Excellent attendance also means full participation in our comprehensive personal development curriculum – the opportunity to learn vital life-lessons on a journey to becoming capable citizens who can engage safely and fully with the teenage and adult world.
Students should look to return to school as swiftly and safely as possible following illness. Returning from illness can often be tiring. It’s important at these times that students prioritise attending school over evening and weekend activities. In school we have ‘quiet spaces’ (in the Library and in the Speech & Language Centre) at breaktime and lunchtime which can support students’ return following poor health. If you are concerned about your child’s return to school following illness, please contact your child’s Form Tutor for support and guidance.
Further information on this can be found in the government legislation: Working together to improve school attendance – DFE Guidance 2024. This has informed our own CVC Attendance Policy.

To support your child’s attendance, here are some things to consider:

Set a positive example. How you talk about school and attendance is important. Be mindful. Don’t say negative things about school. Be clear that school is an important part of everyday life. One simple way you can reinforce this is to tell your children that it’s ‘time to get up for school’ on weekdays, not just ‘time to get up’. Make any appointments outside of school hours where you can, and do not take your child on holiday during term time.
Establish routines. Get into a morning routine at home and see how your child responds. Some people need to prepare mentally for the day ahead, and your child may need more time to get ready before school. Talk about their morning routine, and how long they need to take a shower, get dressed and have breakfast. Having a regular routine where your child is always focused on the next task can be a good way to motivate them. Breakfast can also be used as an opportunity to talk, relax, and make the day ahead seem less daunting.
Understand why your child doesn’t want to go to school. The links below (to Young Minds, Family Lives and Cambridgeshire County Council) contain some helpful and supportive advice where your child has expressed that they don’t want to go to school (perhaps due to issues in a particular lesson, social/friendship issues, learning issues etc.).
Stay in contact with CVC. Please ask for support when you encounter problems. Explain what you’re doing to improve your child’s school attendance and ask for advice. You can contact your child’s Form Tutor or our attendance officer at attendance@astreacottenham.org. We appreciate that all students are likely to experience exceptional circumstances at some point, which keep them from attending school. Outside of these times it is vital that home and school work in partnership to ensure our young people attend and benefit each and every school day.
Please find below some websites which might prove useful when considering attendance matters.

Holidays/time off during term time

In accordance with government guidelines, any time taken off during term term will be unauthorised, unless exceptional circumstances apply. Exceptional circumstances can only be authorised by the Principal and parents should put requests by completing an Application for Leave of Absence. Please allow plenty of time for your request to be considered where possible.

It is particularly important that students do not take time off in Years 10 and 11, as they have coursework deadlines, controlled assessments, exams etc.

Contacting your child/ren during the school day

Should you have an urgent message to communicate to your child, please contact Reception in the first instance on 01954 288 944 and a message will be taken to your child asking them to come down to Reception. Depending upon the urgency of the situation, students could be called to come to Reception straight away, at the end of the lesson or during break/ lunchtime.

Guidance on Strep A, Scarlet Fever, Flu, Coronavirus

For students who are unwell, the current advice from UKSHA is that children should not attend school if they are unwell with symptoms of flu, coronavirus, Strep A or scarlet fever, or if they have a fever. Please notify us on attendance@astreacottenham.org in the event of absence.

The Local Authority issued advice to parents on Group A Strep, you can read their letter here: Group A Strep – Parent Letter and guidance on the importance of good hand and respiratory hygiene to reduce the risk of picking up or spreading infections, which you can read here: Winter illness prevention poster.