Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance and your legal responsibility as parents 

You have a legal responsibility to make sure that your child attends school regularly.  If your child is not attending school regularly, the Attendance Officer will contact you to arrange a meeting to discuss any concerns that you may have. We have a duty to report unauthorised absences to the local authority and the parents of pupils who have a record of persistent and/or unauthorised absence may be fined or have legal action taken against them.  

Punctuality and your legal responsibility as parents 

Being on time for school establishes good habits for the future. Being late for school has a significant impact on learning time and will ultimately affect the attainment your child due to the disruption it causes.   

Registration

School starts at 8.45 each day. Classroom doors open at 8.45 and will close at 8.50- children are expected to arrive at school at this time. The class register will be open in class between this time. If a child is late after the register closes they will receive an L code in the register. This impacts the overall attendance percentage of the year. If a child is late after 9.30 am they will receive a U code in the register. This counts as a missed session mark and will impact the child's overall attendance. For example: if a child is late after 9.30 each day of a school week this will count as a missed morning session and will be 50% attendance for the week.

Reporting Absence

Morning registration takes place at 8.45 am. Children, who are absent when the register is taken, will be marked absent. If your child is absent for any reason the office team will need to follow the following steps:

Authorised and unauthorised absence 

If a student is absent from Oasis Academy Bank Leaze, it is vital that their parent lets school know as soon as possible to give a reason via email or telephone.  All absences from school can result in a telephone call and/or a home visit.  

If absences are not reported to school, a message will be sent out to parents asking them to inform school of the reason. If not contact is still made from home, a home visit will be undertaken by one of the attendance team.  

Please note that we may request medical evidence for any illness.

Appointments during term time 

We understand at times that there can be genuine reasons for absences. Please remember to keep the Academy Office and the class teacher informed. As per our safeguarding procedures if contact is not made then the attendance team will carry out a home visit as it is important that we know where your child is.

Term time holidays 

In order to maximise individual achievement, parents should not take family holidays during the term time period.  The Local Authority has the power to fine parents if their child is absent from school without authorisation. Please note, the academy will not authorise holiday during term time.   However, we advise that you complete a Term Time Leave Request form which can be collected from the main office.

If your child's attendance falls below our academy target of 97% you will receive a letter to remind you of the importance of your child being a good attendee. This letter will also inform you of what will happen next if your child's attendance does not improve. Following an initial letter and where attendance does not improve over the following few week,s you will be invited in for an attendance meeting. In this meeting, you will have the opportunity to meet with a member of the attendance team to discuss how to support you to improve your child's attendance. An attendance contract will be agreed between the school and the family to support the improvement of attendance. If attendance continues to not improve a further meeting will be organized between the school and family.

Where an attendance contract has not seen an improvement in attendance several actions may be taken. These may include a referral to families in focus or Childrens' services if there is a concern for the welfare of the child or a referral to the local authority for a fine.

What can you do to help?  

• Do not book holidays in term time.
• Make medical appointments after your child has had the morning or afternoon attendance mark and always return to school afterwards.
• Do not take your child out of school unless in exceptional circumstances.
• Always ring the school to let us know where your child is and why they are absent.
• If your child has been ill, encourage them to attend as soon as they are fit and able.
• Be punctual and set good routines, as persistent lateness will affect their attendance.

All parents have a legal responsibility to ensure their child attends Oasis Academy Bank Leaze on a regular and punctual basis. It is a criminal offence under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act to fail to secure regular attendance of a registered pupil at Oasis Academy Bank Leaze.  

Regular attendance at school is essential to ensure uninterrupted progress and to enable children to fulfil their potential. The Department for Education has published data on their website that clearly shows the link between attendance and attainment. It also highlights the impact on a child education if attendance is not consistently above 95% throughout their schooling.   

Any pupil who misses 19 days or more of school and has attendance below 90% is classed as persistently absent. This figure is not acceptable, and it will be expected that the family will work relationally with the academy and local authority in order to improve your child’s attendance. These families will be regularly tracked and invited into school to attend meetings in how to improve their child’s attendance. If a parent shows support and starts to show improvements to their child’s attendance, then they will be monitored. If attendance continues to drop and support isn’t followed, unfortunately this will give the school no further option than to contact the local authority to process fixed penalty fines. 

A penalty notice may be issued if following a period of intervention and attendance contract has not been successful. The national threshold (improving the consistency in the use of penalty notices across England) – 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling 10-school week period.

From August 19^th, 2024 the national fine amounts increase will have been brought in by the government. These amounts will be as follows:

• ·       First fine, £80 if paid within 21 days rising to £160 if paid between 22-28 days.
• ·       There will be a fine for each parent in the house and each child.
• ·       A family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children) could be £320 if paid in the first 21 days rising to £640 if paid between 22-28 days.
• ·       If a second penalty notice is issued with a 3-year rolling period to the same parent in respect of the  same child the penalty notice is  £160. There will be no option to pay early at a lower rate.

From August 19^th, 2024, a maximum of two fines only can be issued to the same parent and same child in a rolling three years. After this further action such as prosecution may be considered.