Every Day Counts!

At Haven High Academy our aim is for every student to have excellent attendance and punctuality. In order to fully maximise on learning opportunities, excellent attendance is needed. Parents / carers play a pivotal role in promoting positive attitudes towards attendance. We ask for support in ensuring that students are on time and ready to learn at every opportunity, avoiding absence which is unnecessary.

Research shows that students who attend school regularly make better progress within their academic studies as well as socially. Excellent attendance not only supports students academically and socially but also prepares them for the world of work.

We strive for all our students to have 100% attendance, making the most of the opportunities that are made available to them both within lessons, social times and within our extra-curricular activities. Every interaction at our academy is a new opportunity and will have a positive impact your child both now and for their future choices.

Celebration

Celebrating and positively rewarding students for good attendance is a part of academy culture. This takes place during form time and year group assemblies as well as celebration assemblies throughout the year.

Students attendance is a focus of form time each day, discussions are had around good attendance habits and students are celebrated for their good attendance and punctuality.

We recognise 100% attendance as being a huge achievement and one that needs significant reward and celebration! The 100% attendance awards are rewards for those students who show resilience and excellent attitudes to school.

Outstanding Attendance

Maintaining an attendance record of 100% is a brilliant achievement and one that we are delighted to reward and celebrate. Students who achieve 100% attendance will be given a much deserved cerificate and reward within our rewards assemblies each term.

We recognise 100% Attendance as being a huge achievement and one that needs significant reward and celebration! The 100% attendance awards are reward for those students who show resilience and excellent attitudes to school. We do, however, recognise that in some cases, absence from school is unavoidable. Examples include students being absent from school:

• to mark a religious observance.
• to attend a specialist medical appointment related to a lifelong medical condition.
• to grieve for, and attend a funeral of an immediate family member.

Students who maintain attendance above 97% will be able to access rewards within our reward celebration assemblies each term. The Attendance Team may, when appropriate, also provide incentives and rewards specifically targeted to individuals or groups where it is seen fit.

Reporting Absence

What to do if your child is unwell

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 a also 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.

What to do if your child has an appointment

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.

Medicines

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

The academy gates 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.

The academy has a strategy to support punctuality.  For learners who are recorded as late, that is, arriving to the academy after 8.45am, the time will be made up with an afterschool correction on the day of the late arrival.  The Education Welfare Officer and Front Office will provide the Heads of Year with a daily list of those learners who are expected to complete the correction.  Those learners who fail to attend the afterschool detention (until 4.30pm) will be expected to complete an afterschool detention to 6.00pm.  Continued persistent lateness will lead to an afterschool detention until 4.30pm leading to a Saturday correction (from 9.30am to 11.30am).

We would be grateful for your support in ensuring that your child arrives on time. Arriving late for school does not set them on the correct path for the day ahead and means that they miss vital messages and learning opportunities.

Leave of Absence

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.

Any absence may now only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. The decision rests with the Headteacher and Trust Educational Welfare Officers.

Should you need to take your child out of school for exceptional circumstances during term time, you must apply in writing to the Headteacher, at least four weeks in advance of the period of absence.  An appointment may need to be made with the Education Welfare Officer.  You will be notified of the outcome of your request in writing.

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.

Persistent Absence

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.

Support for 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.