Posted on: March 17th 2023

Headteacher Update 17.03.23

Alaric govan sml pic

“80% of success is showing up!”

It’s been a busy few weeks since half-term, with parents’ evenings, sporting fixtures and the build-up to Year 11 and 13 examinations, which are only two months away now. I’m also only two weeks away from the end of my first term at Chichester High and the time has flown. So many things to do to continue to improve our school.

Improving attendance has been a major focus for us this half-term.

Pre-covid, national attendance was around 95%; now it is nearer 92% and our attendance reflects this national trend. More worryingly, persistent absence (which is defined as a child who has less than 90% attendance) is around 30%. This has to improve. Absence for a child who has 90% attendance looks like this:

  • 1 day a fortnight off

  • Almost 4 weeks off a year

  • 20 weeks of absence during Years 7-11 (that’s half an academic year)

There have been many studies completed which look at the relationship between attendance and success in GCSE and A’ level exams. Not surprisingly, children whose attendance is below 90% are far less successful than those whose attendance is better. The difference can be measured in grades.

To tackle this, our Heads of Year have been promoting the importance of good attendance in assemblies; our staff have been phoning home early in the morning to encourage students back into school; competitions have been promoting improved attendance.. Where possible, we are trying to promote a positive culture of we want you to be here. It’s early days, but we have definitely seen some improvements. Thank you to all parents/carers who are supporting us in this challenge.

Lateness to lessons is another focus for the school. This always bothered me when I was a class teacher. The first ten minutes are really important- you want to take the register, check understanding from the previous lesson, explain what is going to be learnt during this lesson, and start to deliver new content. It is hugely frustrating to have children arriving in dribs and drabs during this time, each one forcing the teacher to have to restart with the whole class or explain it individually to the latecomer.

With this in mind, we are going to start a push on punctuality from next week. Initially, this will be through assemblies and increased staff presence on the corridors, but we will also be introducing a late bell (and a warning bell to give students notice that they need to hurry up) from Monday 27th March. There is a lot of really positive work going on in lessons; we need to ensure that all students are in lessons on time so that they can benefit from this.

One of the things that I want to do more of is give students an opportunity to have a greater say in school life. I have a number of school council meetings set up over the next few weeks and I’m keen to see what our students want us to focus on. One of the things I have already changed is the rule on wearing coats indoors, which was after direct representation from a number of students. Democracy in action. This doesn’t mean that the children can always get what they want- there are good reasons for rules on mobile phones, hoodies and uniform- but I hope it shows that we are open to change and that the school is, when all is said and done, here for the 1350 students.

Happy St Patrick’s Day and have a good weekend.

A Govan
Headteacher

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