Excellent attendance at school is vital to the success of your child. Every student should aim for 100% attendance. Our minimum target is 96% for every student. Attendance is reported to parents at intervals during the year, and can be viewed on Satchel:One. Every day your child misses from school will lead to extra work that they will need to catch up on, and more time spent by the teacher to support this process. The experience of the classroom can rarely be replicated and so it is often challenging for students to make up lost time.
Detentions are set for poor punctuality. Please remember that students are expected on site by 08:40. Please ensure they leave home in good time.
By law, you can only allow your child to miss school if either:
If your child is unable to attend school, please report their absence by 09:00 to the Attendance Officer via one of the following ways:
Please report absence on the first and every subsequent day of your son/daughter’s absence from school. If your child is absent for five consecutive days you may be asked to provide further information or medical evidence.
If your child cannot go to school for long periods because of a health problem, please contact his/her Pastoral Support Assistant.
We do ask all parents to comply with reporting absence by 09:00. Failure to report absence, or to report it late, causes extra work for our Attendance Officer and can result in safeguarding issues.
For planned absence, authorisation is required from the Headteacher. Parents must request permission in advance by emailing thegrammarschool@twgsboys.kent.sch.uk. The school does not allow term-time holidays nor days off for family visits. To avoid difficulty or disappointment, parents are asked to refrain from such requests. Such absences taken without the school’s consent will be recorded as ‘unauthorised’ and a Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued.
Absence is permitted for Sixth Formers taking a practical or theory driving test (NOT driving lessons) or attending university/college open days. To request absence for these occasions parents should use the online form accessible under ‘My Students’ in the MyEd app.
See the school’s Attendance Policy for more detailed information.
See also our Severe Weather Plan for attendance coding in extreme weather conditions.
More information on the legalities around term-time absence can be found here: