Attendance

TO REPORT A STUDENT ABSENCE, PLEASE CALL 01642 310561, SELECT OPTION 1 AND LEAVE AN ANSWERPHONE MESSAGE BY 8AM. INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: STUDENT’S FULL NAME YEAR GROUP FORM GROUP REASON FOR ABSENCE EXPECTED DATE OF RETURN. We will no longer be accepting notifications via email, classcharts or any other communication channels. Please note you are required to contact the academy each day that your child is absent.

Attendance Matters

Regular school attendance is an important part of giving you the best possible start in life. Students who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well in exams. Good attendance shows potential employers that you are reliable. Research suggests that students who attend school regularly could also be at less risk of getting involved in antisocial behaviour or crime. Below is a table showing how your percentage attendance equates to the amount of school time missed.

Attendance during one school year	Equivalent Days	Equivalent Sessions	Equivalent Weeks	Equivalent Lessons Missed
95%	10 Days	20 Sessions	2 Weeks	50 Lessons
90%	20 Days	40 Sessions	4 Weeks	100 Lessons
85%	30 Days	60 Sessions	6 Weeks	150 Lessons
80%	40 Days	80 Sessions	8 Weeks	200 Lessons
75%	50 Days	100 Sessions	10 Weeks	250 Lessons
70%	60 Days	120 Sessions	12 Weeks	300 Lessons
65%	70 Days	140 Sessions	14 Weeks	350 Lessons

Attendance Incentives

Students at Nunthorpe Academy will be rewarded if their attendance is in the green part of the diamond (ie 96% and above).

Incentives on offer include:

• Every student with 100% attendance will be entered into a year group prize draw for a £5 Amazon Voucher.
• Every student with +96% attendance will receive 100 achievement points at the end of each half term.
• Every student with 95-96% attendance will receive 50 achievement points at the end of each half term.

As well as being able to:

• Earn raffle tickets for end of term prize draw – big prizes to be won, which have been chosen by student council.
• Earn a place on an end of term rewards trip – ie Metro Centre or Bowling.
• Earn a free ice-cream when the ice-cream van visits in July.
• Earn a lunch or break time queue jumper or a free cookie.

Students will be able to ‘cash in’ reward points in the reward store on Class Charts.

Students will have the flexibility to use their achievement points for smaller rewards, more frequently or save them up for a greater rewards towards the end of the academic year. Achievement points will reset to zero at the start of every academic year (Sept).

Reward	Spendable Points required
1 Black and 1 Green Pen	150
1 Eraser and 1 Ruler	150
1 Pencil and 1 Pencil Sharpener	150
Highlighter	200
Q Jumper Break	250
Q Jumper Break with a friend	300
Q Jumper Lunch	300
Q Jumper Lunch with a friend	350
Colouring Pencils	350
Pocket Book	450
Confectionary	500
Nunthorpe Water Bottle	500
BIC Pen	600
£5 Love 2 Shop Voucher	1500
Cinema Voucher (£10)	2500

Seasonal Rewards

Short term rewards are great for promoting and improving attendance.  We offer seasonal rewards for example we recently ran an ‘Attendance Advent Calendar’ where each day the highest attended tutor groups were placed in a draw and each student in the winning tutor group received the reward behind the advent calendar door. 

Valentines Attendance Sweethearts – we ran a prize draw for any student in attendance on a daily basis and the lucky students who were drawn at random received prizes.

Easter Egg-cellence – Prize draws take place for all students with egg-ceptional attendance throughout the Easter period.  Students are drawn at random to receive their reward.

Just Eat Voucher Rewards

Starting December until February Half Term!

Achieve 100% attendance and you are in with the chance to win a £50 Just Eat vouchers. One winner will be selected from each year group every Friday afternoon!

Incentive Schemes

Incentive schemes are used to encourage students to attend more regularly and promote the importance of good school attendance.  We are currently running a ‘boost’ your attendance incentive.  Any student who has moved up a colour in the Attendance Diamond will be rewarded with a chocolate bar. In addition there is a weekly draw where any student that has achieved 100% attendance for the week will be entered into the draw to receive a £5 Love 2 Shop Voucher.

Unauthorising Future Absences

Should attendance fall to below 92% we will send a letter informing you of our concerns. We will ask for medical evidence to be supplied in order for any further absences to be authorised. This can be in the form of an appointment card, prescription or medical letter.

Unauthorised absences can lead to more formal legal monitoring and you could be at risk of being issued a Fixed Penalty Notice

Should attendance fall below 90% you may be invited into school so we can support you in improving your child’s attendance. A child with attendance below 90% is classed as being “persistently absent”, schools are expected to take action to address this are of concern. We are committed to working in partnership with parents to ensure students’ have the best possible chance of achieving their full potential.

Every Minute Counts

If you arrive late to school every day, your learning begins to suffer. Below is a graph showing how being late to school every day over a school year adds up to lost learning time.

A Reminder for Parents – Leave of Absence during Term Time

As you will all be aware, current attendance regulations stipulate a Headteacher may not grant a leave of absence during term-time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case by case basis and on its own merits. It is for the Headteacher to decide what he/she views as ‘exceptional’ and it is at their discretion if the circumstances warrant the leave to be granted. If the leave is granted, the head teacher is able to determine the number of school days a child can be absent for.

Where applications for leave of absence are made in advance and refused, the child will be required to be in school on the dates set out in the application.

If the child is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence, which may result in legal action being taken against the parent(s), by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice. Failure to make an application for leave in advance can also result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued to the parent(s).

All matters of unauthorised absence will be referred to the Attendance & Welfare Service at Redcar & Cleveland Local Authority.

Where a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued and not paid within the required timeframe as set out on the notice, the matter will be referred to Redcar & Cleveland Local Authority’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal proceedings under Section 444 Education Act 1996.

Parents are asked to respect the new regulations under which the school must work and if there is a need to take a child out of school during term-time, an application or request must be made in advance and make clear how the circumstances are exceptional.

Leave of Absence During Term Time

In September 2013, the Government introduced some significant changes to attendance regulations for pupils at school. Headteachers are no longer permitted to authorise leave for holidays and can only grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.

Important Website Links

Redcar and Cleveland School Attendance: CLICK HERE

Redcar and Cleveland Holiday Policy: CLICK HERE

Government Attendance and Absence: CLICK HERE

Nunthorpe Academy Attendance Policy: CLICK HERE

Parents guide to term time holidays

Your Legal Responsibility

If your child does not attend school regularly (over 90%) the local authority can take action against you. This can be through a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine) or a summons to appear at Magistrates’ Court.

What is a Fixed Penalty Notice?

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced legislation for Local Authorities to issue Fixed

Penalty Notice Fines to parents/carers of pupils who have unauthorised absences from school.

A Penalty Notice Fine can be issued for 2 reasons:

• If a holiday is taken during term time without the permission of the Headteacher
• If a pupil has unauthorised absence from school and their parent/carer fails to cooperate with school staff and/or other professionals to improve the situation

What are the fines?

Each parent can be given a fine of £60, which rises to £120 each if you do not pay within 21 days. If the £120 is not paid within 28 days a summons can be issued to appear in Magistrates’ Court.

The Local Authority can decide whether to issue a summons to Magistrates’ Court instead of a Penalty Notice Fine.

Unauthorised Leave in Term (Holidays)

Children are not entitled to holidays in term time. Family holidays should be taken during school holiday periods.

Requests for leave due to exceptional circumstances preventing the period of leave being taken during school holidays must made in writing to the Headteacher at least 4 weeks in advance.  An application form can be obtained from main reception, the Attendance Office or alternatively a copy can be downloaded here.

Each parent/ carer will be given a fines of £60 which will increase to £120 where unauthorised leave has been taken during term time.

Absence during Term Time

Children must not be absent from school for:

• Day trips
• Baby Sitting
• Shopping
• Birthdays
• Parent/carer or sibling illness

What is a ‘persistent absence’ student?

If your child takes too much time off school they will become categorised as PA or persistently absent.  (Attendance below 90% = persistent absence).

Missing school will make your child fall behind in lessons and will impact on their academic progress and achievement.

Don’t allow your child to become a PA student.

This table shows how many days missed each half–term will make your child a PA student:

HOW MANY DAYS OFF WILL MAKE YOUR CHILD A PERSISTENT ABSENCE STUDENT?

Half Term 1	4 days of absence from September until October half term will make your child a PA student.
Half Term 1-2	7½ days of absence from September until the Christmas holiday will make your child a PA student.
Half Term 1-3	10½ days of absence from September until February half term will make your child a PA student.
Half Term 1-4	13½ days of absence from September until the Easter holidays will make your child a PA student.
Half Term 1-5	16 days of absence from September until May half term will make your child a PA student.
Half Term 1-6	20 days of absence for the full academic year (September to end of summer term in July) will make your child a PA student.

Promoting excellent attendance to ensure that your child makes every minute of every lesson of everyday count.

Promoting Excellent Attendance

Promoting excellent attendance to ensure that your child makes every minute of every lesson of everyday count

Attending school has a huge impact on your child’s academic success starting from reception all the way through to Year 11 and into the 6th form. Families play a vital role in making sure that their children get to school safely, regularly and on time. Here are some useful tips to help you.

Always make school a priority

• Never make doctor, dentist or optician appointment during school time unless this is absolutely necessary.
• If you do need to make an appointment in school time try to ensure that your child misses as little of school as possible.
• We know that travel companies don’t make it easy for families, but never book a holiday during term time (it won’t be authorised, your child will fall behind in their studies and you may be fined).
• Don’t allow your child to stay off school to make things easier for yourself – this is against the law.
• Don’t allow your child to miss school on Mondays and Fridays if you are going away for the weekend.
• Don’t allow your child to take a day off because of the weather.
• Don’t allow your child to take a day off for their birthday – this is completely unacceptable.

Help your child to stay on track

• Find out if your child is coping with their work and if they are up to date – missing school will make them fall behind.
• Check your child’s attendance with school, you might not realise how much school they have missed.
• Encourage your child to stay back after school to attend intervention, booster sessions and extra lessons whenever they are offered.
• If your child forgets their home learning, PE kit, stationery etc. or is not in correct uniform,  it will cause problems for them at school – please help your child to organise themselves.

Missing school will make your child fall behind in lessons and will impact on their academic progress and achievement.

• 100% No days absent from school
• 95% 10 days absence from school – 50 lessons missed
• 90%  20 days absence from school – 100 lessons missed
• 85%  30 days absence from school – 150 lessons missed
• 80%  40 days absence from school – 200 lessons missed

EXCELLENT ATTENDANCE IS YOUR KEY TO SUCCESS

National Statistics state that:

73% of pupils with attendance of 95% or higher achieve at least 5 GCSEs grade 4 or above

Only 35% of pupils with attendance of between 80-90% manage to achieve 5 GCSEs grade 4 or above

Research shows that pupils with 5 GCSEs grade 4 or above earn on average £350,000 more in their lifetime than those without the grades

Excellent attendance at school = 96% and above

Strategies for Improving your Child’s Attendance

Nunthorpe Academy is committed to working in partnerships with parent to improve attendance and outcomes of all students.

Please see our handy guide with some tips to help you as parents communicate the importance of attendance to your child.

Medical Appointments

Where possible all appointments should be booked outside of school hours. Where this is not possible, the amount of school time missed must be kept to a minimum. School may not authorise the time off school if medical evidence is not provided.

Too ill to attend school?

Children can attend school with minor ailments (tooth ache, headache, stomach ache, cold, sore throat), over the counter medicines can be given before school. School will contact you if they become too ill to remain in school.

If you are unsure how long your child should be absent with an illness speak to your child’s school, your doctor or your pharmacist for advice.

Get your child to school on time every day.

There is link between good school attendance and high level attainment.

Regardless of the reason, if your child is absent from school it will impact on their learning.

Parents/carers are legally responsible for ensuring their child attends school on time every day.

Understanding your Child’s Attendance

We categorise attendance according to the following colour coding:

Be aware of how much learning time is lost with increasing numbers of days absent

Some important facts and figures:

• Students leaving with 5 grade 7 or above at GCSE, over a lifetime, will earn £350,000 more than those leaving with 5 grade 4 or below.
• Research suggests that 17 missed school days a year (91% attendance) = 1 GCSE grade dropped.
• If your child has 20 days or more off school in a year their attendance is below 90% (persistent absence)
• If they have had 10 days or more off school in a year their attendance is below 95%!

‘Be wise, immunise’ your child against flu – you nose it makes sense!

Protect your child, and others, from flu by making sure they get their flu vaccine.

Flu can be a very nasty illness in children, causing a range of symptoms including fever, dry cough, sore throat, aching joints, and extreme tiredness. The virus also spreads easily, and children can pass it on to others.

The nasal spray vaccine is free for children aged 2-3 years, those in primary and secondary schools up to year 11.

The vaccine is also free for children and young people who have a medical condition from the age of six months.

The flu vaccination for most children is needle-free for those aged 2-17 years.

It is given as a single squirt up each nostril; it’s quick, painless and more effective in children than an injectable vaccine.

Children aged 2-3 years (on 31 August 2023) will be given the flu vaccination at their GP surgery.

If you haven’t heard from your practice by the middle of October, please get in touch with them to arrange an appointment for your child’s flu vaccination.

If your child is of primary or secondary school age, up to year 11, you will receive information from the School Age Immunisation Service asking you to give your consent so your child can have their free vaccination at school.

Please remember to complete the consent process as soon as possible.

All children up to the age of 18 who live with someone with a high-risk health condition, or those that live with someone who has, can get the free flu vaccine from their GP. For more information visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/child-flu-vaccine/