Why Attendance is Important:

At The Priory Ruskin Academy, we believe attending school regularly is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and wider development. Evidence shows that the students with the highest attendance throughout their time in school gain the best GCSE and A Level results. (Education Hub - here)

The link between attendance and attainment is clear:

• 36% of persistently absent children in KS4 got 9 to 4 in their English and Maths GCSEs, compared with 84% of regular attenders

Attendance policy link here

 

Attendance Expectations:

Regular school attendance is an important part of giving children the best possible start in life. The aim should be to attend 100% of the time.

Students who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well in exams. Good attendance also shows potential employers that a young person is reliable. Research suggests that students who attend school regularly could also be at less risk of getting involved in antisocial behaviour or crime.

School Attendance:

Attendance percentage	Boundary
95 to 100%	As expected
91 to 94%	At risk of persistent absence
80 to 90%	Persistent absence
51 to 79%	At risk of severe absence
Less than or equal to 50%	Severe absence

 LCC Attendance Strategy - here

 

If you have concerns or need support with your child’s attendance, please contact the academy as soon as you can to ensure early support is available.

If you need to contact the school regarding support around any attendance issues, in the first instance please contact the House Pastoral Manager or Head of House. This can be found in the House section of our website.

Alternatively, you can contact our Attendance Manager: Lesley Smith at lsmith@prioryacademies.co.uk 

Punctuality:

It is also important to arrive at school on time. If a child arrives late for school every day, their 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 over one academic year.

Absence Processes:

Please always make daily contact with the academy to notify us of your child's absence. Our number is 01476 410410.

If you have any further queries regarding attendance, please contact Mr Lee Briggs, Attendance Champion, Associate Assistant Headteacher.

Term Time Holiday and Requesting Leave of Absence:

Term-time holiday will not be authorised and could result in a fixed penalty fine. Only exceptional circumstances warrant a leave of absence. Academies will consider each application individually, taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request.

Leave Of Absence Request Form-  here

What can parents/carers do to support their child?

• Support their learning

• Talk positively about school and let your child know you're there to support their learning at home

• Support them at exam time

• Attend parents' evenings

• Go along to other school events

• Develop their resilience – is your child really too ill to attend school?

 

Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

USEFUL RESOURCES:

Improving attendance: good practice for schools and multi-academy trusts - Case study - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Attendance - Teaching (blog.gov.uk)

DfE Attendance Matters campaign DfE Attendance campaign guidelines 20204 (windows.net)

DfE visual Resources - Compliance - Website DfE resources - All Documents (sharepoint.com)

DfE communication campaign Attendance campaign communications toolkit for schools (windows.net)

Children’s commissioner – DfE DfE external document template (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

How to improve your child’s school attendance and where to get support How to improve your child’s school attendance and where to get support - The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)