Attendance and Absence

Attendance

Reporting an Absence

Student absence email -  studentattendance@ryecollege.co.uk

It is your responsibility to inform us that your child in not in school. 

Our expectations

As we are in school 190 days out of 365 - that’s 52% of the whole year we expect your child to be in school. We expect: 

• Students arrive each morning by 8.50am after 8.55am, all access routes will be locked and students will have to enter via the reception entrance.
• Students who arrive after 9.00am will be recorded as late. This will be monitored and families of students who are persistently late will be required to attend a support meeting to discuss this.

Rye College sets a minimum target of 97% attendance for each student and will not authorise any holiday absence during term time.

If a student's attendance drops below 97%, families will receive a letter to inform you of our concerns about your child's attendance at school. 

A copy of our Student Attendance Policy can be found on our Policies page.

Absence Reporting Procedure

On the first day of illness, we ask you to:

• Phone 01797 228446 or 0787 354 6134 by 08.30; or,

• Email studentattendance@ryecollege.co.uk

You are also required to contact us on each day of absence if your child is unwell for several days and provide medical evidence or an appointment card on the fourth day of illness. If we have not received notification of absence, we will contact you.

The absence will be authorised once evidence is received. Without evidence, the absence is classified as unauthorised. 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10-week period may result in a £60 Penalty Notice being issued.

Planned Absence

To apply for a planned absence from Rye College please download, complete and return the Application for a Planned Absence form.

Medical appointments

Medical appointments should be made outside College hours. If this is not possible students MUST bring a note from their parents or carers in advance of the date along with a letter of appointment from their doctor or hospital to show to their Form Tutor and a staff member in the Student Hub. If the Student Hub agrees with the necessity to miss college they will countersign the letter and the student will present that at student reception where they will need to sign out. Reception will retain the letter.

Children Missing from Education

Children missing education are children of compulsory school age who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. Children missing education are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life. Here at Rye College, we understand effective information sharing between the school, parents/carers and external partner agencies is critical to ensuring that all students of compulsory school age are safe and receiving suitable education.

ESBAS School Attendance Helpline

If you have any questions about school attendance from September, ESBAS staff will be available to talk every Tuesday and Thursday in August between 1.00pm and 3.00pm. You can contact ESBAS by;

• Calling: 01273 481967
• Emailing: ESBAS@eastsussex.gov.uk