Attendance

At Leamington Hastings Church of England Academy we place great importance on regular attendance at school as we know that missing education has a detrimental impact on the progress that children make.

Regular attendance is a vital part of a child's academic and social success. The academy seeks to ensure that all pupils receive a full-time education to make the most of their opportunities to realise their full potential. Staff work with pupils and their families to ensure each pupil attends school regularly and punctually. We can help with advice and support if you are experiencing difficulties in this area.

Children should arrive at the academy on time, every day the academy is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. Permitting absence from the academy without a good reason is an offence by the parent. The academy has a legal duty to promote attendance and is required to publish attendance figures.

Every half-day absence from the academy is classified by the academy as either authorised or unauthorised.  Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a reason such as illness or another unavoidable cause.  Unauthorised absences may include:
- Parents keeping children off unnecessarily, eg. shopping trips

- Unauthorised holidays
- Absences which have not been properly explained
- Children who arrive at the academy too late to receive a registration mark

Punctuality
Being on time is important to your child's education. If a child is persistently late, they miss the start of lessons which may have a negative impact on their learning, confidence and self-esteem. Lateness disrupts your child, their class and the staff working with them.  School begins at 8.45am, when the children come into the academy. Classroom doors close at 8.50am, after which time children should enter through the academy office. If children arrive at the academy after 9:00am, then they are classed as being late.

Being 5 minutes late every day will result in your child losing around three learning days a year
Being 15 minutes late every day equates to an absense of two complete weeks a year
Being 30 minutes late daily equates to losing nineteen learning days a year.

Persistent lateness can also result in losts learning. 

Sickness

If your child is absent through sickness, or any unavoidable cause, please contact the academy by telephoning 01926 632359 by 9.00am on the first day of absence. This will be marked as an authorised absence.

Appointments of any kind, such as a doctor or dentist appointment, should be arranged outside of academy hours where it is possible to do so.  If this is unavoidable, please let the academy office know by providing them with a copy of the appointment letter.

Children returning to the academy after illness should be fit to do so and free from any infection. The NHS issues clear guidelines in this area: Is my child too ill for school?

Term Time Holidays

Government guidance does not permit parents to take children on holidays during term time except under the most exceptional circumstances.

If you do decide to take your child on a family holiday that has not been authorised, their absence will be recorded as unauthorised and could result in a fine being issued from the local authority.

Academy Closure

Occasionally there may be the need to close the academy, although this is a rare incidence. Academy closures will be announced as soon as the information has been verified and information will become available via the following methods:

• A text message will be sent to parents

• A message will be posted to the academy Facebook page

• An email will be sent to parents where it is possible to do so

Our full Attendance Policy is available on our Policies page here.