Attendance
The staff at Five Spires Academy are committed, in partnership with all stakeholders, to providing a school of excellence to our community.
High levels of attendance at school are vital for children’s future life chances as it allows them to access all learning and teaches them important lifelong skills and work ethic. At Five Spires Academy we will do all we can to encourage and support parents and carers to ensure their children achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and rectified promptly. Pupils will be expected to achieve 100% attendance, but when absence is unavoidable, parents and carers are required to inform the school at the earliest opportunity.
Five Spires Academy believes that pupils cannot maximise the learning and enrichment opportunities on offer, allowing them to achieve their full potential if they do not regularly attend school.
Why is regular attendance at school important?
Pupils cannot achieve their full potential if they do not regularly attend school. We want every child to achieve their full potential and we know that parents share this goal. There is a clear link between good attendance and educational achievement. If your child is not in school, on time, as often as possible they will be missing out on many important parts of their education.
Regular school attendance will mean that your child has a better chance in life. Your child will achieve better when they go to school all day, every school day as:
- they learn better
- they make friends
- they are happier
- they have a brighter future.
The Government regard 95% as the minimum satisfactory attendance for a school pupil.
How does your child compare?
Days off school add up to lost learning. Please don’t let your children miss out on the education they deserve.
Attendance during one school year equals this number of days absent which is approximately this many weeks absent which means this number of lessons missed:
We monitor attendance closely and contact parents to inform them and offer support when attendance drops and causes concern.
Absence reporting procedures
Medical Appointments
Routine appointments are expected to take place during school holidays and outside of the school day. If your child has a medical appointment, during the school day, please give a copy of the appointment letter or card to the office staff, before the day of the appointment, who will notify the class teacher and a photocopy of the document will be taken.
Safe and Well Home Visits
If your child is absent from school, you do not inform school and we cannot make contact, a member of the pastoral team may visit your home to ask why your child is absent from school. If we do not hear from you, we will be concerned and may refer you to Children’s Services.
It is a parent/carer’s legal responsibility to ensure their children receive appropriate education. Failing to send your child to school regularly without good reason is a criminal offence. If your child's level of absence is a concern, school will offer advice and support to improve attendance. After this and if there is no improvement, any unauthorised absence may result in the school and the LocalAuthority taking legal action.
Leave in Term Time Leave of Absence from School
Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Unauthorised absence of this nature may be subject to a fine. The Headteacher will determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted. Please observe these regulations. Should there be any exceptional circumstances, please discuss these with the Headteacher before making any bookings.
Punctuality
As you may be aware, the law treats some persistent lateness in the same way as irregular
attendance and parents may be prosecuted by the local authority if late arrival is not resolved.
Poor punctuality can lead to your child…
- Feeling embarrassed in front of their friends
- Missing the beginning of vital lessons
- Missing important instructions for the rest of the school day
- Learning bad habits which could affect their employability in the future
If your child arrives at school after 8.45am, when the gates are closed, your child will be admitted by staff at the main office. You will be asked to sign your child in stating the reason for the lateness. This will be logged and monitored by the pastoral team, for improvement. If there is no improvement, you will be invited into school to discuss reasons for lateness.