Attendance
To report your child as absent, please refer to our infographics below for guidance.
WHY ATTENDANCE MATTERS?
High attendance lends itself to resilience, excellence and quality aspirations!
Outstanding attendance at Sir Christopher Hatton is an important focus and part of our day-to-day approach to ensure that our pupils have the best life chances.
We monitor every student’s attendance closely and will follow up unexplained absence with parents/carers, by telephone, text or by letter. Where a student’s attendance record reaches a concerning level, we will contact parents and carers to discuss ways in which the Academy can support you and your child.
Students are given the knowledge to understand correlations between attendance and achievement; this is done through a range of Academy forums and strategies. Our ethos towards attendance is reinforced by a thorough system, with an emphasis on home-school communication. All students are expected to work towards a minimum target of over 96.5% for each academic year.
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD HAS AN APPOINTMENT
All routine medical and other appointments must be arranged out of school time. In exceptional circumstances, where an urgent appointment is required or for hospital clinic appointments that operate during the day only, we require sight of an appointment card or letter in order to authorise any absence from school.
PUNCTUALITY
The school site and canteen are open to students from 8.00am.
Students should arrive for 8:30am. Any students arriving after 8:30am will be marked as late and can expect to receive a sanction.
Any student arriving after registration must sign in at Student Reception.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE (INCLUDING TERM-TIME HOLIDAYS)
Headteachers are not permitted to authorise leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Absence will not normally be authorised for reasons such as shopping for uniform, birthdays, day trips or holidays.
Parents/carers must submit any request for leave in writing, using the notification of unauthorised absence form and in advance of the proposed absence. Requests will be considered individually, taking into account factors such as:
-
The time of year of absence
-
The student’s attendance record
-
Previous requests for leave
-
The student’s ability to catch up on missed work
Parents/carers will be informed of the decision in writing or by telephone.
If a request is refused and a child is still taken out of school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. The Academy may refer the matter to the Local Authority, who may issue a Penalty Notice.
The current Penalty Notice is £80 per parent per child if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 if paid within 28 days. Failure to pay may result in prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court.
SUPPORT FOR ATTENDANCE
We monitor students’ attendance and punctuality very closely. We follow up an unexplained absence with parents/carers by telephone and/ or by letter.
Where a student’s attendance reaches a concerning level, we will contact you by letter, telephone, or home visit to discuss ways in which we can work together to support you and your child. We may invite you to a meeting in school to discuss your child’s attendance and how the Academy can support you to improve this.
LEGAL SANCTIONS
Parents/carers have a legal duty to ensure that their child attends school regularly, in accordance with the Education Act 1996.
Where a child’s attendance becomes a concern, the Academy may refer the matter to the Local Authority. The Local Authority has legal powers to enforce school attendance where this becomes problematic, including the power to prosecute parents/carers who fail to ensure their child’s regular attendance.
If found guilty in the Magistrates’ Court, parents/carers may face a fine of up to £2,500 and/or imprisonment for up to three months.
GENERAL ADVICE TO PARENTS
- Contact school each and every day of your child’s absence.
- Try to make medical appointments outside of school hours.
- Provide the school with copies of any medical evidence such as appointment cards.
- Inform school beforehand of any medical procedure.
- Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and speak to someone if you have a concern.
- Inform us of any planned holidays. Although they will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and may incur a fine, it is better that we know a child is safe rather than missing.