School Office : 01174 280505
Email: info@soundwellacademy.org.uk
Our vision is to achieve excellence by consistently fulfilling 100% attendance and punctuality goals.
Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind.
We seek to ensure that all our pupils receive a full-time education which maximizes opportunities for each pupil to realise their true potential both socially and academically.
Over a period of five school years, a pupil with 90% attendance will have missed half of a whole year of schooling. Similarly, pupils with poor punctuality miss valuable lesson time and, if it happens regularly, progress will be jeopardised.
We expect outstanding attendance for all, however we do recognise that there are times when pupils will absent from school.
If attendance drops below 97% the school will contact parents immediately to put a plan in place to make improvements.
Aspire to high standards of attendance from all pupils and parents and build a culture where all can, and want to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising attendance improvement across the school.
Rigorously use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance (at individual and cohort level) as soon as possible so all parties can work together to resolve them before they become entrenched.
When a pattern is spotted, discuss with pupils and parents to listen to understand barriers to attendance and agree how all partners can work together to resolve them.
Remove barriers in school and help pupils and parents to access the support they need to overcome barriers outside of school. This might include an early help or whole family plan where absence is a symptom of wider issues.
Where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with, partners should work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is also in place to enable families to respond. Depending on the circumstances this may include formalising support through a parenting contract or education supervision order.
Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being engaged with, enforce attendance through statutory intervention or prosecution to protect the pupil’s right to an education.
If you feel that your child isn’t well enough to come to school, you need to phone and leave a message before 8.30am for each day a pupil will not be attending school with your child’s name, year group and the reason why they are not in school. Pupil Absence Line: 0117 4280 505 info@soundwellacademy.org.uk
Medical appointments should be made for after school wherever possible. We may ask to see evidence of medical appointments, if your child’s attendance is poor.
As an academy we must follow national legal guidelines which means that holiday requests during term-time cannot be authorised.
Because of this, absences or persistent lateness which are not agreed with us, can incur a penalty notice. These penalties are through the local council and we have no control over how they are given.
We cannot guarantee that we will authorise a pupil’s leave of absence during term time, as this is only done in exceptional circumstances. If you don’t get permission from our Head of Academy, the absence is classed as ‘unauthorised’ and this includes lateness.
If you want to see if an absence can be authorised, you must contact school in advance and get permission from the Academy Headteacher.
We keep parents up to date with their child’s attendance and confirm absences with them; this makes sure pupils are supported in their progress at the Academy.
Our Attendance Team work really hard to support pupils and often identify patterns of non-attendance. They will always work with parents and carers to understand these patterns and see how they can be improved.
If you require an exceptional leave of absence, please download this form and send it to the school office.
