Attendance

Regular attendance is a crucial factor in students’ educational development and ability to achieve their full potential. Much of the work persistent absentees miss when they are off school is never made up, leaving these students at a considerable disadvantage for the remainder of their school career. There is also clear evidence of a link between poor attendance at school and low levels of achievement:

• Of pupils who miss more than 50 per cent of school, only three per cent manage to achieve five A* to Cs including English and maths.
• Of pupils who miss between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of school, only 35 per cent manage to achieve five A* to C GCSEs including English and maths.
• Of pupils who miss less than five per cent of school, 73 per cent achieve five A* to Cs including English and maths.

Every student at Isaac Newton Academy is set a target of 100% attendance. Absence of 5% or more is considered unsatisfactory. It is the equivalent to a day’s absence every four weeks weeks over the course of an academic year.

At Isaac Newton Academy we work in partnership with parents/carers and students to ensure outstanding attendance. It is the parents/carers’ responsibility in law to ensure their child attends the Academy regularly and remains on site for the duration of the academy day.

Effective systems and procedures ensure regular attendance and high levels of punctuality. We closely monitor the attendance and punctuality of individuals and groups and intervene promptly when any issues arise.

Students at risk are supported to achieve regular attendance through an escalating range of interventions, including being placed on daily attendance report, meetings with parents/carers, involvement of the Educational Welfare Officer (EWO), the use of parental contracts, and the use of penalty notices for persistent non attendance and unauthorised absence from the academy.

Responsibilities of Parents/Carers: Parents/Carers are expected to:

• ensure that their child attends the academy every day and support them in meeting their target of 100% attendance
• limit their child’s absences to cases of genuine illness
• book holidays outside of term time. No student will be permitted to take a holiday during term time.
• make appointments for medical appointments outside of Academy hours
• contact the school by telephone, by 8.15 a.m. on each and every day of absence
• provide a medical evidence or prescription for an absence relating to an illness
• attend a return to school meeting after an absence of 5 days.

Any student absences are authorised at the discretion of the Principal. Should a circumstance arise where a parent/carer believes it is imperative that their child needs to be taken out of school they must complete a Student Leave of Absence form and request permission from the Principal in person by making an appointment to meet with her to enable her to consider their request. Where the decision is taken to refuse permission, and should the parent ignore this, the absence will remain unauthorised. In addition, it is likely that the Academy will issue a penalty fine and that the family losing their child’s school place.

If a pupil is unable to attend school due to illness or other circumstances, parents/carers should leave a voicemail on the absence phone line before 8.15am for every day of the child’s absence.

If the academy has not heard from you by 9am, we will contact you directly.