Attendance and behaviour

Why attendance matters at Dallam School

At Dallam School, we know that excellent attendance is the foundation of success. Every day in school matters. When students attend regularly and arrive on time, they are better able to learn, achieve their potential, and feel a strong sense of belonging within our community.

Our Attendance and Belonging Policy reflects our commitment to setting high expectations for attendance and punctuality, promoting the benefits of good attendance, and ensuring that every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled.

Attendance, achievement and wellbeing

Regular school attendance supports:

• Stronger academic progress – Students who attend school consistently are better able to follow lessons, build knowledge over time, and achieve their best in examinations and assessments.
• Positive wellbeing and development – Our approach recognises that emotional health and wellbeing are closely linked to attendance and educational achievement. Feeling safe, supported and connected helps students thrive.
• Positive relationships and belonging – Being in school every day helps students build friendships, develop confidence, and feel part of our school community.
• Good habits for life – Regular attendance helps young people develop responsibility, resilience, and strong routines that prepare them for further education, training, and employment.

Our belonging approach

We refer to our attendance policy as our Belonging Policy because we know that students achieve best when they feel valued, supported, and proud to be part of Dallam School. A strong sense of belonging improves outcomes and helps every young person feel that they matter.

Through our “5 Foundations of Effective Attendance Practice”, we focus on building positive relationships with students and families, identifying barriers early, and providing support before problems escalate.

Working in partnership with families

Parents and carers play a vital role in supporting good attendance. We ask families to work closely with us to ensure that:

• Students attend school every day unless genuinely unwell
• Appointments are arranged outside school hours wherever possible
• Absence is reported promptly
• Support is sought early if attendance becomes a concern

When attendance does fall, we work sensitively and proactively with families to understand the reasons, offer help, and agree a clear plan for improvement. Our aim is always to support pupils back into regular, confident attendance as quickly as possible.

Our commitment

At Dallam School, we are committed to creating a culture where:

• Excellent attendance is expected and celebrated
• Barriers to attendance are identified and addressed
• Students feel safe, supported, and motivated to attend
• Every child is given the best possible chance to succeed

By working together, we can ensure that all students belong here, learn here, and thrive here.

Reporting an absence  

Our school day begins at 8:50am and finishes at 3:15pm. 

If your child is going to be absent from school you must report the reason to their pastoral co-ordinator via Synergy before 8:40am. 

If your child is absent and we have not heard from you, we will text you as part of our safeguarding process.     

Report an absence in Synergy.

Absence during term time is prohibited unless the Headteacher authorises it under exceptional circumstances. Please use the Absence request form.      

Full details of our attendance policy available here.

Behaviour  

We have the highest possible expectations for every child here. We want them to succeed with their learning and to feel safe, happy and well. The school focuses on three key areas to ensure the highest standards of behaviour: learning, community, and personal development. 

Read everything about behaviour at Dallam in our behaviour policy.  

Mobile phones   

We are a no-phone school

Our recommendation would be that students do not bring mobile phones to school. If they need to contact home, they can ask to use a phone in the Pastoral hub at break or lunch time.

The school takes no responsibility for mobile phones and any other electronic equipment that is brought on site.

These are our rules around mobile phones: 

• Students must keep their mobile phones turned off and stored safely in their bags or locker.  
• Students must not store their mobile phones on them in person.  
• Teachers will log instances where student phones are seen, and students will need to hand their phones to their teacher for collection from our pastoral hub at the end of the day. 

“At a time when students have been profoundly isolated and cut off from the groups in their lives, it’s critical that we engineer schools carefully to maximise these characteristics of daily interaction…To ensure that experiences are fully engaging, students need to be off phones and in a setting that is psychologically beneficial”

Lemov, 2022