At Glapton Academy we are committed to helping all pupils to achieve their full potential. Good attendance is a key factor in raising pupils’ attainment and supporting their personal development. Whilst it is appreciated that children are ill from time to time, please think carefully before allowing your child to be absent from school. The chart below provides an indication of how just a few days absence can significantly impact a child’s overall attendance percentage and impede their learning:
| Description | Attendance | Whole Days Lost | Lost Hours of Learning |
| Excellent | 100 – 99% | 0 – 2 | 0 – 10 |
| Good | 98 – 96% | 4 – 7.5 | 20 – 37.5 |
|
Requires Improvement |
95 – 91% | 9.5 – 17 | 47.5 – 85 |
| Persistent Absentee | 90 – 86% | 19 – 27 | 95 – 135 |
| Critical | 85 – 80% | 28.5 – 38 | 142.5 – 190 |
We always aim to work positively with parents, when we have concerns regarding children’s attendance. This involves school regularly keeping you updated via letters and other forms of contact regarding your child’s attendance percentage, as well as offering support or guidance whenever it is needed. We strive to work in partnership with families to find realistic solutions to overcome barriers to learning. Our Family Support and Attendance Officer (Mrs Sharon Lang) is available Monday to Friday, and is available to advise you on a variety of matters. Please contact the School office to make an appointment.
If your child’s attendance falls below 96% we will make contact with you and offer support.
We have a very successful whole school strategy of improving attendance through working in partnership with parents and children. Attendance at Glapton aims to be consistently above 96% and we need you and your child’s contribution to ensure that we attain this. We are aware that there will be occasional exceptional circumstances that will require individual support or alternative arrangements.
As a staff team we are available and we encourage parents to discuss any difficulties they may be experiencing. Good attendance and punctuality ensures that children develop good social skills, have full access to education and achieve their full potential.
Please note that parents are not entitled to take their child out of school for holidays and such absences will be subject to a fine from the Local Authority referred to as a Fixed Penalty Notice (see FAQs Leaflet).
The school celebrates excellent class and individual children’s attendance in assemblies.
Class Weekly award and EXTRA PLAYTIME.
Please note that we require a medical document for all absences either prior to or after a school holiday. The Attendance Officer may also visit your home to check that your child is ill.
Your child should be in school in good time for morning registration. All pupils must also be on time for afternoon registration or they will be marked as late or absent.
The school will be open in the morning from 8:40 am or at 8.00 am for children attending the breakfast club.
Your child should be in class by 8:50 am (KS2 & Y2) and 8.55am (Y1 and F2) for prompt
Registration at 8.50 am and 8.55am
Children must not be left in school before 8:40 am unless they are with a parent/carer or their parent/carer has requested permission for them to arrive unaccompanied as they will be unsupervised, staff cannot accept responsibility for children arriving before 8:40 am (unless registered for Breakfast Club.)
Registers close at 9:20am. If your child arrives after 8.50am but before the time the register closes, they will be marked as late. If your child arrives after that, they will be marked as absent. If your child is late, they or their adult must sign in at reception with the reason.
If your child arrives after the bell you should bring your child to the School Office.
If your child arrives after 9:20 am they will receive an unauthorised absence mark for the morning session instead of a late mark.
Where children arrive after 9:20 am parents are expected to provide an acceptable reason for lateness. Until such information has been received, and the explanation for lateness accepted by the School, your child’s mark will remain as an unauthorised absence. This counts as an absence for the morning session and it will be shown on your child’s end of year report.
Your child may be referred to the Education Welfare Officer for action after he/she has received 3 unauthorised late marks.
We would expect a parent/carer to telephone the school on the first day of absence. If you do
not phone us, we will contact you. However, we need a written explanation on your child’s
return to school. If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we
will not authorise the absence, and this will be shown on your child’s end of year report.
We require a medical document for all absences either prior to or after a school holiday. The Attendance Officer may also visit your home to check that your child is iill.
In cases of recurring absences or attendance below 96% you will need to bring in either an appointment card to show that your child’s illness has been assessed by your GP or any medication that has been prescribed for your child. Please note that unless medical evidence is provided recurring/frequent absences are treated as unauthorised.
In cases of urgent medical/dental appointments parents are expected to produce an appointment card and children are expected to attend school prior to and after the appointment. Where the appointment is at the beginning of the day you should bring your child to school afterwards. For appointments later in the day your child should be collected early from school.
Yes, your child can come back to school as soon as he/she is feeling better. You will need to bring the medication to school office and complete a form allowing a member of staff to administer.
The school will not authorise absences for:
The school operates a first-day response for absences: we will contact you if we have not heard from you. This is because it is our responsibility to ensure pupils’ safety as well as their regular school attendance. If we are concerned about aspects of your child’s attendance or punctuality we will contact you to discuss the best way forward. However, it should be noted that you are expected to contact the school yourself on the first day of your child’s absence by calling 0115 915 2936
The school monitors attendance for all children closely and the name of any child whose attendance is below 96% is entered on a monitoring list. Parents receive a courtesy letter notifying them that their child’s attendance is below 96%.
NO. Family holidays must be taken during school holidays and NOT during term time. If you take your child out of school to go on holiday you will receive a Fixed Penalty Notice. If, in exceptional circumstances, you need to request permission for your child to accompany you on a family holiday during term-time, you should in the first instance, arrange an appointment with the Head Teacher. You should then complete an application form, at least three weeks in advance, stating the reason why the holidays must be taken in term-time. The Head Teacher has the right to refuse permission, having given consideration to:
The Head Teacher is unable to approve your child’s absence if the timing of the holiday
coincides with SATs.
An example of an exceptional circumstance is the death of a close family member or a parents
wedding.Please note that permission can only be granted for a very short period of time and
you are required to request leave of absence PRIOR to booking any tickets or you will receive a
Fixed Penalty Notice. You also need to provide evidence when your child returns to school.
A Fixed Penalty Notice is a fine issued by the Local Authority to parents who take their child on holiday, or out of school, during term time without the express consent of the school. Such absences are referred to the Education Welfare Team who may impose a fixed penalty fine of £60 if paid within 21 days rising to £120 per parent for each child if paid within 28 days (Anti- social Behaviour Act 2006/2013).
If the notice remains unpaid after the 28th day, the Local Authority prosecutes the parent in the Magistrates’ Court for the original non-attendance offence under The Education Act 1996, section 444, and not for non- payment of the penalty notice. If found guilty, parents will have a criminal record, possibly receive a fine of up to £1,000, for a first offence, and be required to pay costs to the Local Authority. There is no right of appeal against a Fixed-Penalty Notice.
Make sure your child gets enough sleep and gets up in plenty of time each morning to have breakfast before coming to school. Ensure that they leave home in school uniform and with any items they need for the day e.g. homework, PE kit, swimming kit. Look in their school bags and partnership books and communicate with your child’s teachers. Show your child, by your interest, that you value their education.
Contact Mrs Hurst or Mrs Warman immediately and openly discuss your worries. Your child could be avoiding school for a number of reasons – difficulties with schoolwork, bullying, friendship problems, family difficulties. It is important that we identify the reason for your child’s reluctance to attend school and work together to tackle the problem. In some cases you may find it helpful to discuss the circumstances of your child’s difficulties with our Attendance Officer. The school may refer you to an Education Welfare Officer who works with staff and families if difficulties with attendance continue.
Glapton Academy closes at 3:15pm every day (clubs may operate after this time).
If you know you are going to be late to collect your child contact the school immediately. Upon arrival you will be asked to sign the after-school late book and explain why you were late collecting your child.
If your child is not collected at the end of the day, and you have not contacted the school to advise us, the office will endeavour to contact you and your other contacts at home and at work. If this is unsuccessful, a senior member of staff will be informed of the situation. To comply with legal regulations, a decision may then be taken to contact either Social Services or the Police.
Please remember that children worry about their parents’ welfare and can become quite distressed when they realise that no one has come to collect them.
