Attendance
To give your child the very best chance in life, you need to aim for them to achieve 100% attendance and have good punctuality. Without both of these then your child’s overall achievement will be seriously affected. In preparing learners for adulthood it is essential that good habits and clear routines are quickly established. The link between attendance and achievement shows that those who attend regularly and access high-quality teaching and learning will leave school with qualifications and access to greater employment opportunities.
Absence
On the day your child is absent from school you must contact us before 9 am. If the absence goes beyond one day you must keep the school informed of the situation and let us know when they will be returning.
Medical/Dental Appointments
Where it is possible these appointments should be made outside of the school day. If this is unavoidable then we would expect your child to be in school before or after the appointment
Unauthorised Absence
If a learner is absent from school without permission then this will be marked as unauthorised. At Trinity Academy, we work closely with Newcastle LA Attendance team to monitor cases of persistent poor attendance. Those learners who fall into this category will be offered support from the school, however, failure to improve attendance can lead to the Attendance service taking action under government guidelines.
We use the following categories to monitor learner attendance:
Punctuality
Being persistently late to school can have a damaging effect on the progress of a learner. Those who are regularly late will be asked to discuss the reasons with their Tutors. If this continues to be an issue then we will contact parent/carers to arrange a meeting to see how as a school we can support to rectify this situation.
How the lost time adds up…
- 5 minutes late each day 3 days lost
- 10 minutes late each day 6.5 days lost
- 15 minutes late each day 10 days lost
- 20 minutes late each day 13 days lost
- 30 minutes late each day 19 days lost
Responding to Persistent Non Attendance
Stage 1 - U95% Letter
For any learner whose attendance falls below 95%, an initial attendance letter will be sent to inform parents / carers that attendance is below 95% which is a prompt and an offer of support to improve attendance. If parents / carers want to discuss reasons why attendance has dropped below 95% they can contact the school to do so.
Stage 2 – Non Improvement Letter
If after a learner has received a stage 1 letter and after monitoring, attendance has failed to improve or has decreased further, a follow up Non Improvement Letter will be sent to parents / carers to inform them. This letter informs parents / carers that school will continue to monitor the situation and will be in touch again if it does not improve which may lead to a Parenting Contract meeting being arranged to discuss support for improved attendance and possibly a referral to the Local Authority Attendance Team.
Stage 3 – Parenting Contract Meeting
If after a learner has received a stage 2 letter and after monitoring, attendance has failed to improve or has decreased further, a follow up letter requesting a Parenting Contract meeting will be issued. This is a further opportunity for parents / carers to discuss with school any concerns regarding the learners attendance and look at possible solutions to try support them attending school more regularly. The offer of external support via Early help can be offered at this stage to support the family if required.
Stage 4 – Legal Monitoring
If a Parenting contact meeting is not attended or if after attending the meeting attendance has failed to improve or has decreased further, A letter will be sent to the parents / carers to inform them that a referral to the Local Authority Attendance Services will be made. All information will then be sent to the Local Authority Attendance Officer who will then make contact with the family in regards to monitoring the learners attendance. School will need to provide weekly attendance data to the Local Authority in line with it Legal Monitoring procedures and if the learners attendance does not improve, the Attendance Team can issue a Fixed Penalty Warning Notice to parents / carers.