The government states that school attendance below 95% is unsatisfactory.  This is why here at Summerhill School we know that our school family is capable of achieving a higher standard and we are confident our whole school attendance can surpass 97% for the school year.

To underline the importance placed on excellent school attendance the DfE have has decided that students with less than 90% attendance will now be classed as ‘Persistent Non-Attenders.’  We are going to ensure that our Attendance Team at Summerhill School will address any concerns with parents well ahead of this.

It is clear that any absence from school, other than planned educational activities, will affect a young person’s academic achievement and will have a negative effect on life chances.  Whenever we look at students who are failing to achieve their potential, there is usually a link with poor attendance.  Once students have fallen behind, catching up can be very difficult and absence in the later years of education almost always affects exam results and can cause problems with references for colleges, universities, employers etc.