Attendance
Your co-operation in ensuring regular attendance and punctuality is essential. Attendance at school is crucial to your child’s education and development. Should your child be absent from school for any reason it is your duty to contact the Academy stating the reason for absence before 9.30 am on the first day of absence. If we do not receive a call to inform us that your child is absent, the school administrator will telephone you to ensure your child is safe and has not wandered off on their route to school.
Key points to remember
Whilst it is right that the Academy recognises that some children and families may have occasional problems, the aim of us all is to expect regular attendance.
Lateness is actively discouraged – it is disruptive for your child and the other children in class.
Only explanations for absence will be illness, medical appointments or exceptional family circumstances.
The Academy operates a first day contact policy. The Academy will make every effort to contact parents on the first day of absence. This also provides reassurance for parents that children have arrived safely at school.
A note explaining absence is essential on return to school.
Each half term the school administrator prints each child’s attendance as a percentage and this is monitored by the Headteacher and Department for Education.
There is a staged process where attendance falls below 95%.
Attendance is reviewed daily to ensure children are in school. There is a more formal tracking of attendance every half term.
The Department for Education has ruled that Headteachers are no longer able to grant any absence during term time except under “exceptional circumstances” and therefore the Academy will not agree to a family holiday during term time. A week missed in school, amounts to approximately 6 hours per day, 30 hours per week. This is a tremendous amount of missed learning opportunity not only academically but socially and emotionally.
Occasionally children will need leave of absence to attend events which occur infrequently (e.g. observance of a religious event, a wedding of a parent, a funeral, a parent returning from Armed service or an examination), parents need to apply in writing and each application will need to be considered on its merits and the Academy may consider it as an authorised absence. Please see the Academy Attendance policy for more details which can be found here.
Our attendance lead is Mrs Armstrong Headteacher.
