Behaviour for Learning — Solihull Sixth Form College

Behaviour for Learning

Behaviour for Learning

Attendance and Punctuality

For you to reach the highest academic standards of achievement, you must recognise that all courses at the College require full and uninterrupted attendance. In order to do this, students are expected to meet the following standards:

  • Attend all timetabled commitments and appointments i.e. subject lessons, supervised study sessions, academic coaching sessions and enrichment classes throughout the academic day.
  • Be punctual to all timetabled commitments and appointments.
  • Contact the College to report if you are ill, or for unavoidable appointments during the College day, and unable to attend. This is reported through the ‘Reporting an Absence’ form available via the Student Zone of the website.
  • Do not take holidays during the College terms.
  • Make routine dentist, doctor and optician appointments out of College time and do not schedule driving lessons during College time.
  • If you leave the premises for any reason e.g. you are feeling unwell, you must Report an Absence via the form on the website.

Recording of Attendance and Punctuality

We operate an electronic registration system. Attendance is recorded for every timetabled class, parents/carers can view attendance via the Arbor portal.

  • If you arrive after the start of the lesson you will receive a late mark and be asked by the teacher to explain the reasons for lateness.
  • If there are issues with your attendance and punctuality, your teachers will discuss this with you through a formal intervention. If the issues continue this may lead to the involvement of parents/carers and an escalation through of behaviour processes.
  • There are regular programme attendance checks and unacceptable levels of attendance and punctuality are communicated in writing to parents/carers and discussed with Academic Coaches in one-to-one sessions.
  • If there are extenuating reasons for absence, we encourage you to talk these through with your Academic Coach.
  • If you are unavailable for an agreed appointment, it is polite to let staff know in advance.

Reporting of Absence

The College should be informed early on the first day of absence. We ask that you via the ‘Report an Absence’ form available on the Student Zone of the website. Fill in the specified fields relating to reason for absence and giving an indication of how long you are likely to be away from College.

Part Time Employment

Part-time employment offers many personal and financial benefits; it helps develop employability skills and provides useful experience for future careers. However it can have detrimental effects upon College work, so we strongly recommend that:

  • Students work no more than 10 hours per week, preferably at weekends;
  • Students do not undertake work that is unduly tiring e.g. that involves working late at night, which may affect attendance or concentration the following day;
  • Students are always available for timetabled or other commitments during normal College hours (9.00am – 4.05pm) plus any other evening and weekend commitments;
  • Where a clash of interests occurs, College commitments take priority.

Holiday Requests

Students wishing to take time off during term time for holidays or family events must make an application in writing to the Principal. Most requests will not be granted, because missing lessons is highly detrimental to a student’s progress. If permission is granted, students will be expected to make up all work missed by an agreed deadline.

Identity Cards

You will be issued with your personal identity card at enrolment and it is very important that this is worn on the lanyard provided and is visible at all times when on the College site. You will need it to access the College site and use all College facilities.

The safety and security of our students and staff are paramount and we are committed to managing access to the site in a professional way that safeguards both students and staff and develops a sense of responsibility. Consequently, we operate a zero-tolerance policy and students without ID cards are not allowed onto site. If you lose your card, you will be charged £10 per replacement card.