Attendance so far this year
Our whole-school target is 92%. For your own child, the aim is 95% or better. These are the figures for the year so far, up to Tuesday 6th October, and for the last week, Wednesday to Tuesday.
The whole school so far this year
Down 0.2% on last week. The week just gone was 89.6%, our lowest full week so far, with 4.75% unauthorised. England's secondary schools opened the year at 94.6% with 2.4% unauthorised. The gap between us and the country is still almost entirely the orange box.
Bars start at 80% so the differences are easier to see. Year 8 and Year 7 are over target. Year 10 are just under at 91.2%. Year 9 at 88.9% and Year 11 at 89.4% are our concern. Last week, Wednesday 30th September to Tuesday 6th October, the whole school was 89.6%: Year 7 93.8%, Year 10 89.6%, Year 8 89.6%, Year 9 87.8%, Year 11 87.6%.
The Friday effect
Fridays: five weeks, and a new pattern
Five Fridays in, the pattern has changed shape. Last Friday, 2nd October, was 89.3% against 91.3% on the Thursday, a two-point drop and the biggest Thursday-to-Friday fall of the term. But the figure that matters most is a different one. Absence with no reason given hit 5.1% on Friday, the highest of any day this term, and the five Fridays now average 4.5% unexplained against 4.0% for the term as a whole.
In plain terms: on a Friday, about four more students than usual are off with no call and no message, and last Friday it was nearer ten. Those are not the children who are ill. Those are the children for whom Friday has quietly become optional, and that is the habit we need to break before half term.
Whole-school attendance by day, from Arbor, 3rd September to 2nd October. Bars start at 85% so the differences are easier to see. Wednesday 30th September, at 88.3%, was the lowest single day of the term so far. This week so far: Monday 89.5%, Tuesday 89.8%.
Three things to know
Three things to know this week
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1
12 school days to half term
Friday 23rd October is the last day. Where a year group stands at half term is, every year, where it finishes in July. A student at 90% today who is in every one of the next 12 days will be at about 92.5% by half term: from below target to above it in two and a half weeks. A student who misses two of the 12 goes backwards.
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2
Year 9 and Year 11, this is your week
Year 9 were 87.8% last week and Year 11 87.6%, both the lowest they have been. Year 11 have mock exams in the first three weeks after half term, and every lesson between now and then is revision whether it is labelled that or not. Year 9 are choosing options this year. If your child is in either year group, please make these 12 days count.
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3
Flu vaccinations are next week
The school nursing team is in on Wednesday 14th October for Years 7 to 9 and Tuesday 20th October for Years 10 and 11, with a mop-up on 1st December. It is a nasal spray, takes a minute, and is the single best way to keep your child in school through the winter. If you have not yet returned the consent form, please do so this week.
Sources: Department for Education, Pupil attendance in schools, week commencing 7th September 2026, and our own Arbor figures to 6th October.
Three mornings, three decisions
What would you do?
Three mornings every family recognises, and what the table above says about each.
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1
Thursday night. "Can I have tomorrow off? Half my form will be"
No, and it is worth saying why rather than just saying no. Friday is a full day with five lessons, and Friday period 5 is caught up like any other lesson. Half the form will not be off, whatever they have heard. Same bedtime as a Tuesday, bag packed tonight, and something fixed to look forward to after school on Friday that only happens if Friday happens. Marked present, and in the £20 draw.
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2
Dentist at 11.15am. Easier to take the whole day?
Please do not. Bring them in for 8.30am, sign them out at reception at 10.45am and bring them back afterwards. That is two sessions present and a medical mark for the one they missed, instead of a whole day of absence. Tell us in advance and bring the appointment card, and it is authorised. Try to book appointments for the end of the day where you can.
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3
"My throat hurts." No temperature, ate breakfast, on their phone
Send them in. A sore throat without a fever is a school day, and sitting at home on a phone does not make it better. Water bottle in the bag, a word with the form tutor, and if it gets worse during the day we will ring you. If they develop a temperature of 38°C or above, that is different: home until it has gone, and ring us before 8.30am.
Watch: just over a minute
Well enough for school? The short version
The table above as a short video, for the Monday morning when nobody has time to read. Save it to your phone, or share it with whoever does the school run.
Recognising the students who are here: this week's £20 winner
Congratulations to Toby Kimble in Year 9 9CCA, this week's winner of the £20 attendance draw. Toby has been in school for every session this term, one of the 311 students who have not missed a single one.
Every student whose attendance is 100% this week, or has improved on last week, goes into Friday's draw for a £20 voucher. Students with an agreed attendance plan are in the draw when they meet their own plan. Form tutors award a Resilience Token for every full week in school, or every full week of a plan.
If your child is one of the 311, please tell them we noticed. If they are not yet, it is never too late to start a run: every student who is in every session this week is in Friday's draw.
Running this week: places still available
Open Week: tours of the academy
Open Week is under way. Every morning until Friday 9th October we are running a short tour from 9.15am to 9.45am: a walk through our classrooms while lessons are happening, a chance to see the academy on an ordinary morning and to ask questions.
Places are limited to 20 people each day. There are still places on some mornings this week, so please book and you will get an email confirming your place.
Open to prospective families and to current parents and carers who would like a look inside.
Takes one minute. Confirmation by email.
What happens when your child is absent
Day one. Please ring us before 8.30am on 01493 661504, option 1, or email cpoaattendance@cliffparkoa.co.uk. If we have not heard from you by 9.30am we will ring you.
When they come back. Their form tutor will say hello, check they are all right, and make sure they have what they missed. Coming back should never feel like a punishment.
If a pattern starts. The form tutor or Head of Year will call you. We want to know what is getting in the way so we can help.
If it keeps happening. We will sit down with you and make a plan, with named support in school and, where it helps, from outside. Fines are a last resort and you will always hear from us first. Illness you have told us about, medical appointments and absence agreed in a plan are never fined. Holidays in term time cannot normally be authorised. The rule is national: after five days of unauthorised absence in ten school weeks, the council can issue a fine of £80 per parent, per child, rising to £160 after 21 days. The full rules are on our website.
When school feels too hard
Some students are not refusing school. They cannot manage it. Anxiety about school is real and common, it is not bad behaviour or bad parenting, and it usually gets better with the right help. The earlier we start, the easier it is.
If your child is tearful in the mornings, or often feels sick on school days, tell us early. The same if they are being picked on, worried about someone at school, or avoiding certain days or lessons. On a bad morning, do not force it on your own. Ring the attendance line, say your child is struggling, and we will agree what today looks like: a later start, a quiet room, or a call from someone they trust. A short day we planned together beats a whole day lost.
We can meet them at the gate, start the day in a quiet room, start with a shorter day for a few weeks (agreed with you and reviewed together), and bring in support from outside school where it helps. Absence we have agreed as part of a plan is never fined.
Contact your child's Head of Year, a Deputy Head of Year, their form tutor or any adult in school they trust, and say the words "school anxiety". That is enough to start.
Support for families
Attendance problems always have a cause. Sometimes it is at school, sometimes at home, sometimes health. We will look at all three with you. These services help with the causes outside school.
Health
Just One Norfolk
NHS health advice for Norfolk families, including sleep, anxiety and school worries.
0300 300 0123
justonenorfolk.nhs.ukWellbeing
Kooth
Free, anonymous online support and counselling for young people in Norfolk.
kooth.comSEND
Norfolk SENDIASS
Free, independent advice for parents of children with special educational needs, including attendance and EHCP (education, health and care) plans.
01603 704070
norfolksendiass.org.ukYoung carers
Caring Together
Support for children who help look after a parent, brother, sister or someone else at home who is ill or disabled. Tell your child's form tutor too; young carers get flexibility here.
caringtogether.orgParents
YoungMinds Parents Helpline
Advice for parents worried about a child's mental health, including school anxiety.
0808 802 5544
youngminds.org.ukMoney and home
Norfolk Community Directory
Find local help with housing, food, transport and family support.
communitydirectory.norfolk.gov.uk
Who to contactAttendance contacts
For anything about attendance, start here. Heads of Year cover anything about your child in that year group. Tap a name to email.
Attendance and support
| Contact | Ring them if | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance line | Your child is off today, or you are not sure whether to send them in (before 8.30am) | 01493 661504 (option 1), cpoaattendance@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms L Ross | Absence, patterns, fines, attendance plans (Attendance Manager) | lross@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms A Waters | Special educational needs, EHCPs, school anxiety (Vice Principal and SENDCO) | awaters@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms D Giles | School anxiety, worries at home (wellbeing support) | dgiles@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Ms J Slack | Behaviour and student care | jslack@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
Heads of Year
| Year group | Head of Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Mr D Dudley | ddudley@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Year 8 | Mr E Phillips | ephillips@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Year 9 | Mr R Callaby | rcallaby@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Year 10 | Mr M Warnes | mwarnes@cliffparkoa.co.uk |
| Year 11 | Mr M Harris | mharris@cliffparkoa.co.uk |