Why is attendance important?
Every day of education and indeed every lesson matters. In the National Curriculum where there is built in progression, children who are persistently late or absent soon get behind with learning and then do not understand current lessons when they return.
The introduction to a lesson and to the school day is crucial to the child’s understanding of their own learning. Children who miss school frequently will undoubtedly have gaps in their learning which will impede their progress and future ability to engage in lessons. This in turn has a knock on effect for their ability to concentrate and for their behaviour.
Frequent absence has a profound and cumulative effect on achievement.
Reporting absence
To report your child’s absence: Please phone our attendance & admissions line 01424 429279 Option 1 or send us a message using the ScholarPack App before 9am. Please do not use Seesaw for this purpose.
Absence during term time
The Department for Education has amended the regulations and guidance in relation to absences in term-time. There is no automatic right to take your child out of school during term time. From 1st September 2013, the Department for Education will only allow a head teacher to grant a leave of absence if there are exceptional circumstances. In determining whether or not an absence in such circumstances can be authorised, it is for the head teacher to determine the number of days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted.
If you consider that your request falls into this category you will need to complete the form on the reverse of this notification. A response will be sent to you as soon as possible. If the absence requested is not considered to be an exceptional circumstance, and you nevertheless take your child out of school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised in line with County Council guidance.
Therefore, in the case of an unauthorised absence the Education Support, Behaviour & Attendance Service will be notified and a Penalty Notice will be issued. Please note that Penalty Notices are issued to each parent for each child taken out of school. A Penalty Notice is a fine of £60 which increases to £120 if not paid within the first 21 days. If the Penalty Notice remains unpaid this will result further legal intervention.
All absence requests must be completed on the attached form, letters will not be accepted. This should be returned to the school a minimum of 14 days before the start of the absence.
Any absence from school will disrupt your child’s learning. You may consider some absences to be educational but your child will still miss out on the teaching that their classmates will receive. Children returning from an absence are unprepared for the lessons which build on the teaching they have missed. Teachers then have to give more time to help individual children catch up on missed work. This poses a potential risk of the under achievement of other students in the class. This is something we all have a responsibility to avoid.
Punctuality
Punctuality is very important. Children who arrive late to classes are at a disadvantage as they often miss out on vital learning. If your child is late arriving, they must go straight to the Academy office where they will be registered by the office team and taken to class.
Persistent lateness will be taken very seriously and where we have a concern the Academy will contact you to see how we can best support you with punctuality. In severe cases this will be reported to the Local Authority.