Dear Parents/Carers,
I am writing to reinforce the critical importance of ensuring your child attends school every day and arrives on time. Regular attendance and punctuality are the foundation upon which academic success, positive relationships, and emotional wellbeing are built.
While 90% attendance may sound high, it means that your child is missing the equivalent of one half-day of school every week, or nearly four full weeks of lessons over the academic year. This is a significant amount of lost learning time that can be challenging for a student to recover.
Our academy target for all students is to achieve 95% attendance or higher. Students with attendance above 95% typically achieve better academic outcomes and feel more connected and confident within the school community. If your child drops beneath this they are reducing their chances of being successful quite dramatically.
Government data affirms this and demonstrates a direct link between school attendance and lifelong financial prospects. Where school attendance was below 90%, earnings are around £10,000 less by the age of 28 compared to their peers whose attendance was between 95% - 100%. Consistent attendance is an investment in your child's future earning power.
Arriving on time is equally vital. When a student is late, they not only miss important instructions and settling time at the start of a lesson, but their arrival also disrupts the learning of their classmates and the flow of the teacher's lesson. This small delay can have a ripple effect throughout the entire day.
We kindly ask that you help your child establish a consistent morning routine to ensure they are at the school gate and ready to learn before 8:25 AM.
Crucially, please be aware of the following regarding persistent lateness:
- Any student arriving after 8:55 AM will be marked with a 'U' code.
- A 'U' code signifies that the student is marked as absent for the entire morning session.
- Accumulating 10 'U' codes over a period may result in a referral to the Local Authority and the issuance of an Education Penalty Notice (EPN). We are committed to avoiding this outcome and urge you to support us in ensuring your child arrives promptly every day.
Education Penalty Notices
The National Framework for penalty notices introduces a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered.
The National threshold is met when a pupil is recorded as absent for 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period.
If the unauthorised absence is for ten school sessions (i.e. five school days) or more, the local authority may issue an Education Penalty Notice (EPN) to each of the child's parents or carers at the request of the Head Teacher or School Governing Body.
With effect from 19th August 2024, the law changed and penalty notices have increased. Penalty charges are £160 if paid within 28 days reducing to £80 if paid within 21 days per parent/carer per child.
The National Framework for Penalty Notices introduces a new national limit of two penalty notices that can now be issued to a parent for the same child within a rolling three year period. If a second Education Penalty Notice is issued to the same parent for the same child, within three years of the first Fixed Penalty Notice, the second Fixed Penalty Notice is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days.
Once two Education Penalty Notices have been issued, if a third unauthorised leave of absence occurs within a three year period, the Local Authority is able to move to prosecution immediately.
Punctuality
To further support punctuality, we are hosting a special event: 'Set Your Watch By Us' on Friday, 03/10/2025. We invite all students and staff to participate by ensuring their personal clocks are set precisely to the three official academy clocks. This simple alignment exercise aims to eliminate minor timing discrepancies and help everyone arrive on time, every time.
We understand that genuine illness and unavoidable appointments occur. However, we ask that you schedule non-urgent appointments (such as dentist or optician check-ups) outside of academy hours wherever possible.
If your child is experiencing difficulties that are affecting their ability to attend school, please contact your child’s Learning Manager immediately. We have dedicated support staff ready to work with you confidentially to find solutions and overcome barriers to attendance.
By working together to prioritise consistent attendance and punctuality, we can ensure your child has the best possible opportunity to succeed.
Thank you for your ongoing support in your child’s education.
Your faithfully
AM Edgar
A Edgar
Assistant Principal