The Importance of Attendance 

Norton College wants all our young people to be confident both academically and socially, to be able to succeed in the next stages of their learning. Ultimately, we want students to be equipped for the workplace and for later life. Success at school gives young people the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of experiences, develop lifelong friendships, and learn how to work effectively within a team. These all support a young person’s wider range of choices and ambitions for the future.

School life is not always easy, and there will be times when a young person feels they can’t manage coming in. However, when children don’t attend school regularly, they will feel behind in their learning. This barrier can have a detrimental impact on the very confidence we are trying to develop. Absent students also miss out on shared experiences with friends, at times leading to a sense of isolation. Such feelings can make school feel even tougher and can lead to increasing patterns of poor absence.

Attending school on a regular basis is the key to children doing well at school and sets them up with good habits for later life, as well as the working world.
It also gives children the opportunity to:

• Achieve their potential and fulfil their aspirations
• Improve their career prospects
• Learn new things and develop new skills
• Increase their confidence and self-esteem
• Improve their social skills
• Make lots of friends and feel included
• Regular school attendance means your child can make the most of all the opportunities and experiences
  available.

To read more about our attendance strategy, please see our Attendance Matters booklet below. For our Attendance Policy, please visit our School Policies page. 

Leave of Absence Applications

In line with national guidelines, Norton College is not able to authorise holidays during term time. Young people who are absent from school fall behind in their learning. They miss out on school events and many find it difficult to catch up. In addition, school staff must divert their attention away from other young people to support those that have fallen behind due to a holiday-related absence. For this reason, any request for leave of absence due to holidays in term time will not be authorised.  

We also recognise that on occasion you may need to apply for leave of absence for a student during term time and that this is unavoidable, for example to attend a funeral.

Please use this link to do so. We ask that this form is submitted to the school at least 4 weeks in advance of the proposed absence. If this timescale is not possible, the form must still be completed.