Research proves that there is a very clear relationship between excellent school attendance and academic achievement.

Year after year, the students with the best school attendance achieve the best results. The graph shows average progress made by students in the 2022 cohort. Students with 100% attendance made on average nearly a grade more progress, per subject than students with 95% attendance. Students with 80% attendance made, on average, almost a grade and a half less progress. We are passionate about providing students with the best possible life chances and as such, know they have to ‘be here to get there.’

Parents, carers and families are therefore asked to ensure that their young person is in school every day of term.

The law states that students can miss school if they are:

• Too unwell to attend school*;
• It has been authorised in advance by the Principal (such as a religious observance including attending the wedding of a family member, funeral or competitive sporting event).
• Please click the link below to access the official government guidance: (“Is my child too ill for school?”)

* Schools may ask for medical evidence to authorise extended periods of absence or when attendance is below 97%.

The table below details the number of days and lessons of invaluable learning opportunities missed over a year with attendance at different levels.

All students at The Ruth Gorse Academy Academy are set an attendance target of 97% or above.

If your child is absent from the Academy you must telephone the Attendance Line 0113 2531 600 on the first day of absence before 8.00am and provide a reason.

Please be aware that The Ruth Gorse Academy works closely with Leeds City Council and will transfer any cases of persistently poor attendance for possible prosecution in either the Family or Magistrates Court.

• If we do not receive communication, you will receive a phone call home from one of our team of dedicated Attendance Officers.
• A home visit may be made depending on the student’s attendance record and the nature of the absence.
• On returning to the Academy the student must take responsibility to catch up on work missed.

Home visits will be conducted by members of the Attendance Team if a student’s attendance is of concern. The purpose of making home visits is to have a conversation with families about their young person’s attendance, complete a safeguarding check and offer support where applicable.

Maintaining an attendance record of 100% is a brilliant achievement and one that we are delighted to reward and celebrate. Students who achieve 100% attendance will be given a much-deserved place in the 100% Attendance Club. Membership of the club entitles students to a range of rewards, including celebration activities and pop-up events throughout the year.

A 100% Attendance Club pin badge is presented to students when they enter the club. It is expected that this pin badge is worn with pride at all times around the Academy. This is a student’s pass to a raft of rewards and treats including a specially allocated queue in the dining room, ensuring priority and speedy serving at lunch and break times. If any student is found to be abusing the badge, for example by loaning it to another student, the privilege of being in the 100% club will be removed.

Students that are members of the 100% attendance club in September are those that secured 100% attendance at The Ruth Gorse Academy during the whole of the previous academic year. After October half term, we will welcome to the club every student that has achieved 100% attendance during the first half term of the year. Students stay in the club and experience all the perks that go alongside this for as long as they maintain 100% attendance. This will be reviewed weekly by the Attendance Team and any student who drops below 100% will hand their badge back to school.

There are more than just rides at our reward events. For example, we have also had a photo booth, inflatable bowling alley, air hockey, table football, penalty shoot-out, garden games and more. We are always looking for suggestions from our student body as to how we can make our events even better.

As well as lots of fun things to do, we make sure that there are edible treats at our events too. We regularly order takeaway pizza, cookies, ice lollies and much more!

Hundreds of students maintain 100% attendance throughout the year at The Ruth Gorse Academy which means that hundreds of students get to experience these rewards.

At The Ruth Gorse Academy, we have revolutionised the way our young people are rewarded and celebrated for strong attendance with the launch of 100% Club Points!

This initiative allows all students with 100% attendance each week to earn a “100% Club Point.” These points can be used to ‘buy’ access to 100% Attendance Incentives, including weekly Pop-Up Events, Queue Jump privileges, and large-scale celebrations such as Party in the City. This means that every student has the opportunity to take part in these events by saving up enough points.

Additionally, we have a prize cabinet filled with rewards that students can purchase using their Club Points—because points make prizes!

Students can also earn extra 100% Club Points through weekly Pop-Up Events, Form Time Competitions, assemblies, and special competitions held throughout the year.

We recognise 100% Attendance as being a huge achievement and one that needs significant reward and celebration! Therefore, only students with 100% Attendance will be granted access to the club. The 100% attendance club is a reward for those students who show resilience and excellent attitudes to school. We do, however, recognise that in some cases, absence from school is unavoidable. Examples include students being absent from school:

• to mark a religious observance including attending the wedding of a family member.
• to attend a specialist medical appointment related to a lifelong medical condition.
• to grieve for, and attend a funeral of an immediate family member.

In all cases where a parent / carer is seeking an exception to be made, the Principal must authorise this. Please complete an ‘Exceptional Circumstances form’ and return to the academy by email or post.

Students who maintain attendance above 97% will be able to access some of the same rewards given to those in the 100% Attendance Club. The Attendance Team may, when appropriate, also provide incentives and rewards specifically targeted to individuals or groups where it is seen fit.

We expect that all students arrive at school by 8.20am in order to be at their form room, ready to begin the school day, by 8.25am. This 5 minute period allows students sufficient time to enter the school premises and make their way to their respective form rooms.

Any student arriving late to school (after 8.25am) will receive, in the first instance, a warning and the importance of their punctuality will be discussed with a senior member of staff and/or an attendance officer. For each instance thereafter, students will receive a negative comment and the Positive Discipline policy will be followed.

If a student arrives at school after 8.55am, this will be marked as an unauthorised absence.

We are grateful for your support in ensuring that your child arrives on time. Arriving late for school does not set students on the correct path for the day ahead and means that they miss vital messages and learning opportunities.

The Ruth Gorse Academy will very rarely authorise a holiday during term time.

As an academy we recognise that financial pressures and work commitments sometimes make it difficult to take holidays outside of school time. However, we ask for your full support in ensuring that your child is in school all the time to access an outstanding education.

If you choose to take an unauthorised leave of absence the case will be transferred to Leeds City Council to process a penalty fine.

For safeguarding reasons, all students must be collected from school for college interviews. In exceptional circumstances, students may be permitted to leave the academy independently; however, a written request must be submitted in advance and approved by the Senior Leadership Team.