Attendance

If your child is too unwell to attend the academy, parents/ carers must contact the Academy Attendance Office as soon as possible:

• Please ring the school absence line before 9am each day on 01205 311979 and choose Option 4 from the menu to leave a message. You must contact the school on every day of absence. Please clearly state your child’s name, year group and the reason for the absence.
• If your child is absent and we have not received a message, you will be sent a text message reminder for you to inform the school of your child’s absence.
• If school is not notified of an absence after a text message has been sent, school will phone to find out about an absence.
• If no contact is made with the school and we are unable to ascertain a reason for your child’s absence, please be aware that a home visit may be made by one of our Education Welfare Officers, in line with the academy Attendance Policy.

On your child’s return to school following an absence, your child will complete a Student Return to School Form with their Form Tutor and also a Student Absence Report Card. It will be your child’s responsibility to catch up on any work that has been missed as a result of the absence. The Head of Year will also be made aware of any absences. We also request that parents/carers send a note on the first day their child returns to school with a signed explanation as to why they were absent this needs to be given to their form tutor.

We request that all routine medical, dental or other appointments, where possible, are made outside of school time. Where an urgent appointment is required or a hospital appointment during school hours, we request that you provide medical evidence in the form of an appointment card or letter in order to authorise the absence from school. We ask where possible parents/ carers ensure that your child attends school before and after the appointment to maximise their learning opportunities for that day.

If your child is prescribed medicine by the doctor, then the following rules apply:

• Medicine prescribed 3 times per day WILL NOT be given by staff. Parents can give the prescribed dosage morning, after school and bedtime.
• Medicine prescribe 4 times per day WILL be given by a member of the administration staff, but parents will need to complete and sign a form giving permission for this to happen.

For safety reasons, no children should be bringing medicines or tablets to school in their school bag. Any medicine brought into school, must be given in to the Front Office, where it will be securely stored. Generally, we would expect a child to have no more than 48 hours off school if they are given medication from the doctor unless necessary.

Punctuality is of the utmost importance and lateness will not be tolerated. The academy gates are open at 8.00am and we expect all learners to be in class at the start of the school day at 8.45am, registers are marked at this time. If a learner arrives at the academy after 8.45am and before registers close they will be recorded as late (L).   If learners arrive after 8.45am they can only enter school via the front office and will be escorted to the late room where they will be registered and questioned about the reason for being late. They will then be released to lesson at 9.10am.

Attendance after the registers close at 9.40am will receive an unauthorised late mark (U) to show that they are on site, but this will count as an absent mark. Learners who are absent before they come into the academy due to medical appointment, must provide evidence of the appointment either before the appointment or as soon as they return after the appointment.

A letter will be sent informing parents/carers of learners who are regularly late that this is not acceptable and in extreme cases, where no improvement has been made, this may mean that parents/carers could be invited to attend a meeting with the Education Welfare Officer. 

If there is no improvement in a learner’s attendance and lateness, the academy may refer the matter to the local authority who have the power to issues sanctions for poor attendance such as penalty notices or prosecutions. 

Government regulations introduced in September 2013 state that pupils should not be taken on holiday during term time.  The law states that parents do not have an automatic right to take their child out of school for this.

All holidays will be classed as unauthorised unless the Headteacher deems the absence to be an exceptional circumstance. This decision rests with the Headteacher and the Academy Attendance Champion

Should you need to take your child out of school during term time, you must apply in writing, by letter, email or on the Parent Portal, to the Headteacher, at least four weeks in advance of the period of absence.  You will be notified of the outcome of your request in writing. An appointment may need to be made with the Attendance Champion or Education Welfare Officer. 

Absence could result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued under Section 444(B) of the Education Act 1996, as is in line with the academy Attendance Policy.

A persistent absentee is any student whose attendance falls below 90% as stated within government guidelines. Persistent absence has a detrimental effect on students as work missed is often not fully completed leaving students at a disadvantage to their peers.

Students with poor attendance are less likely to achieve their academic potential and may find that they suffer socially. We have a responsibility to ensure that students are given all the opportunities to succeed both academically, socially and for their future life choices, hence the academy have a designated Attendance Team to support students and families where there are concerns regarding student’s attendance.

The academy monitors the attendance and punctuality of each individual student closely daily and follows up all absence which is unexplained with parents / carers as soon as possible by telephone, written communication and/or home visits. If a student’s attendance becomes a concern to us, then contact will be made with parents / carers to discuss this further and support put in place where needed. Working together to support your child is key in order to ensure that they are achieving their academic potential and to support their well-being.

If you would like to discuss any concerns that you have around your child’s attendance or are aware of any issues which may impact your child’s attendance, please contact the Attendance Team on 01205 311979 option 4 to discuss what support can be offered.