Attendance
Receiving a good full-time education will give your child the best possible start in life. Attending school regularly and punctually is essential if children are to make the most of opportunities available to them.
Our target for every pupil is that over the whole year they achieve at least 96% attendance which is in line with the Government's national expectation - the equivalent of 7 days absence in a year. Persistent absence (PA) is defined as an attendance rate of 90% or below.
Poor attendance can seriously affect a child’s attainment in school, relationships with peers and the ability to form long lasting friendships.
What you can do to help…
Make sure your child arrives at school on time. This encourages good timekeeping habits and reduces any classroom distractions.
If you child has to miss school, it is vital that you inform us on the first day of absence, preferably first thing in the morning. Simply call the office and leave a message.
If you think your child is having difficulties attending school, contact us straight away. Most problems can be dealt with very quickly.
Arriving Late
Our school days starts at 8.40am. We encourage pupils to be ready to start work at this time.
As soon as the classroom door opens (8.30am), pupils’ learning starts with morning work and challenges.
Pupils arriving after 8.40am must sign in at the school office. The number of minutes late will be logged.
Being frequently late for school adds up to lost learning time.
- 5 minutes late every day adds up to 3 lost days of learning time.
- 15 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 2 weeks a year.
- 30 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 19 days a year.
Some strategies to improve your child’s punctuality:
- A good bedtime routine.
- Pack school bags the night before.
- Good morning routines
- Leave 5-10 minutes early to allow for traffic.
Reporting an absence
When your child is absent with prior permission, please contact the academy office as early as possible on the first day of absence:
Unauthorised absence
If your child is absent and we do not receive an explanation from you, or consider the explanation unsatisfactory, we will record your child’s absence as ‘unauthorised’.
Authorised Absence
Most absences for acceptable reasons will be authorised by the academy …
- Sickness
- Unavoidable medical/dental appointments (where possible please arrange these for after school or during the holidays)
- Days of religious observance
- Exceptional family circumstances, such as bereavement
- A visit to a prospective school
The Academy will not authorise absence for the following reasons …
- Shopping trips
- Day trips
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Looking after siblings or ill relatives
Holiday Requests
Government guidance has removed the permission for head teachers to agree to term time holiday requests.
Due to the disruptive effect on a child’s education, you are strongly advised to avoid booking a family holiday during term time.
Parents and carers do not have the right or entitlement to take their child out of school for a term time holiday.
Corby Primary Academy, in line with government directives, expects pupils to attend school for at least 96% of the time. This equates to approximately half a day’s absence every two weeks. If a pupil is absent for a whole day their attendance for that week drops to 80%.
The Northamptonshire County Council attendance policy means a Penalty Notice may be issued for 5 days of absence. Whilst parents/guardians can provide explanations for absences, it is at the Academy's discretion as to whether this absence will be authorised/unauthorised.
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 have removed the reference to holidays during term time and now provide that a leave of absence during term time will only be granted where an application is made in advance to the school and the school considers that a leave of absence should be granted due to exceptional circumstances relating to that application.
What amounts to ‘exceptional circumstances’ is a matter of discretion for the Principal and should be judged on a case by case basis but it is unlikely to amount to an exceptional circumstance if it is merely claimed that a holiday abroad can only be afforded in term time or that a parent is unable to take leave during school holidays.
If your leave of absence has not been authorised by the Academy you may be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice by the Local Authority. This could result in a fine of up to £120 per parent per child.
Parents have a responsibility for ensuring their child attends the Academy regularly and punctually. The Academy expects that all parents communicate with them, either in writing or by telephone, giving a reason:
- In advance of any planned absence.
- Immediately following any unplanned absence.
- During any absence expected to last more than three days.
Failure to comply with this requirement will mean that your child will have unauthorised absences on their attendance record and this could lead to a referral to the Education Entitlement Team.
Pupils should inform a member of staff of any problem or reason that may prevent them from attending the Academy.
Parents should contact us, in confidence, whenever a problem occurs that may affect their child’s attendance. Regular attendance means arriving on time for the start of the Academy day (8:40am prompt.) It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure their child gets to the Academy on time.
Parents of pupils who are regularly late will be contacted, so we can work together to rectify the situation. Where no improvement is made, the Education Entitlement Team will be informed.
We follow the advice from Public Health England, whereby if children have sickness/stomach bug we ask parents to keep them at home for 48 hours after their last bout of illness.