Attendance

All students must register at the start of the morning with their Form Tutor in their designated form rooms. Registration each day is at 8.40am.

If a student is late to school, they must sign in at Student Reception. If a student arrives after 9.29am, attendance will be marked as an unauthorised absence. Any student leaving before the end of the school day for any reason must sign out at Reception. Students may only leave early if our attendance department has received a telephone call or email (osaattendance@onslow.herts.sch.uk) from the parent explaining the reason for leaving. If a student is being collected early, it is the student's responsibility on the day to make sure they come down to be collected.

If a student is absent or late due to illness or a medical appointment, the parent must inform the school by telephone or email OSA Attendance by 8.30am at the latest on the day that the student is absent and on each subsequent day the student is away.  

There is a designated telephone extension to report absences and the phone system will prompt you to leave your message. Please call 01707 264228 and select Option 2. Please leave your child’s name, your name,  a contact number and a brief reason for absence. A specific reason must be given for the student’s absence each day that they are away from school. 

Absences during term time can have a serious and detrimental effect on students’ learning. We would urge parents not to take children out of school other than in wholly exceptional or unavoidable circumstances. Parents are requested to make medical and dental appointments after school or in the holidays where possible. Where this is not possible, please let our attendance officer know either by telephone (01923 284483, option 1) or email (osaattendance@onslow.herts.sch.uk), ideally at least 48 hours before the appointment, providing evidence of the appointment either in the form of a picture of the letter or text message received from the healthcare provider regarding the appointment. 

The school and the Local Authority take the view that taking children on holiday during  term time can be damaging to a child’s educational progress. Children find it very difficult to catch up on the learning that they have missed and in the longer term this can  have a negative impact on their progress.

Any absence will only be sanctioned in exceptional circumstances. It is a requirement that any absence during term time, other than for medical appointments,  is formally requested at least three weeks in advance using the necessary Leave of Absence form obtainable from the school’s office and on the website. Authorisation will only be granted at the Headteacher’s discretion. Please also note that it is not possible for additional work to be set and marked for absence during term time and it will be the student’s responsibility to make up any missed work on return to school. Further information regarding attendance can be found in our Attendance Policy available on the school website.

Leave of absence for participation in  productions or filming can only be given  when a licence has been applied for from the Local Authority and again at the  Headteacher’s discretion. Sufficient time,  i.e. at least three weeks’ notice, should be  allowed for this process. No absence will be authorised for critical times at school,  e.g. examination periods.