Our Approach to Attendance

At Denbigh School, we believe that regular attendance is an important part of every student’s education. Being in school consistently gives students the best opportunity to make progress, build positive relationships, feel part of the school community and make the most of the opportunities available to them. 

We aim for all students to achieve at least 96% attendance and encourage every student to attend school every day that they are well enough to do so. Regular and punctual attendance also helps students develop important habits such as reliability, resilience and commitment, which will support them beyond their time at Denbigh. 

We recognise, however, that there can be times when a student’s attendance is affected by illness, wellbeing, anxiety, SEND or other circumstances. Our approach is not simply to look at an attendance percentage, but to work with students and families to understand what may be affecting attendance and, where possible, identify the right support. 

We believe that early communication makes a difference. If your child is beginning to find attending school difficult, we encourage you to contact us as early as possible. Denbigh has an extensive pastoral team, and by working together with families we can identify barriers, agree appropriate support and help students maintain or improve their attendance. 

Why Attendance Matters

Regular attendance gives students the best opportunity to make progress, achieve their potential and feel connected to school. Every day in school provides important learning opportunities and helps students to build knowledge, develop positive relationships and take part fully in school life. 

Even a small amount of absence can quickly add up. For example, 95% attendance may sound high, but across a school year it means approximately 10 days of absence – two full school weeks and around 50 hours of learning missed.  

Good attendance also helps students develop positive routines and important life skills, including reliability, resilience and commitment. At Denbigh, we want students and families to understand that every school day matters, and that regular attendance provides the strongest possible foundation for education and future success. 

Meet the Attendance Team

Our Attendance Team works closely with students, families, pastoral staff and other professionals to support regular attendance and ensure that any concerns are identified as early as possible. 

The team is here to support families with attendance-related queries, help identify and understand barriers to attendance, and work alongside students and parents where additional support may be needed. 

Our Attendance Team: 

• Lead Attendance Officer – Miss Blackall  

• Attendance Officer – Mrs Arnold 

• Senior Attendance Champion – Mr Stewart 

You can contact the Attendance Team at studentabsences@denbigh.net or by calling 01908 330536. 

Reporting an Absence

If your child is unable to attend school, it is important that you let us know each day that they are absent. This helps us to safeguard our students and ensures that we have an accurate reason recorded for their absence. 

Parents and carers can report an absence in one of three ways: 

• ParentMail – report the absence directly through your ParentMail account. 

• Email – email studentabsences@denbigh.net. 

• Telephone – call 01908 330536 and leave a voicemail with the details of your child’s absence. 

If we have not received a reason for your child’s absence, you will receive a notification through our Attend system. This will be sent to your registered email address and will allow you to provide us with the reason for the absence. 

Parents and carers must provide the school with a reason for every absence. If we do not receive parental contact explaining an absence within five school days, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. 

Illness and Attendance

We understand that there will be times when students are too unwell to attend school. However, not every illness or minor ailment requires a full day away from school, and we encourage students to attend whenever they are well enough to do so. 

If your child feels unwell in the morning but improves as the day progresses, please bring them into school for the remainder of the school day. Attending for part of the day is better than missing a full day of learning. 

If your child is too unwell to attend, please remember to report their absence to us each day using one of the methods outlined above. 

For more specific information about appointments during the school day, please visit our Medical Appointments page. Medical Appointments – Denbigh School – Milton Keynes

How We Monitor Attendance

At Denbigh School, we review student attendance every four weeks. Regular monitoring allows us to identify changes in attendance and communicate with families at an early stage where concerns begin to emerge. 

We use Attend to communicate attendance information with parents and carers. Where a student’s attendance reaches one of our attendance thresholds, this will initially begin with a letter informing you of your child’s current attendance and making you aware of the amount of education they have missed. 

If further absence occurs and attendance continues to decline, our response may escalate. This may include an invitation to meet with the Attendance Team to discuss your child’s attendance, understand any barriers that may be affecting their ability to attend regularly, and agree what support or next steps may be needed. 

Our aim is to identify concerns early and work in partnership with families, giving attendance the opportunity to improve before concerns become more significant.

Attendance Thresholds

We monitor attendance throughout the academic year and use attendance thresholds to help us identify when a student’s attendance may be beginning to cause concern. These thresholds allow us to communicate with families early, understand the reasons for absence and offer support where this may be needed.

Attendance	What this means
97% and above	Good attendance – we encourage students to maintain this throughout the year.
95%	Around 9 days / 45 lessons missed. We will communicate with parents/carers to make them aware and encourage improvement.
92%	Around 15 days / 75 lessons missed. We may contact parents to discuss the reasons for absence and consider what support may be required.
90% or below	Around 19 days / 95 lessons missed. A student is considered persistently absent, and more formal attendance support and intervention may be required.
50% or below	A student is considered severely absent and will require a higher level of attendance support and intervention.