Dear Parents & Carers
After our first month back I thought it would be a good opportunity to remind you of our attendance expectations for all students, as well as our policies and procedures in relation to student absence.
After such a long absence from full time education never has your child’s attendance been so important. Regardless of your child’s age their attendance is not only essential for them to achieve the best academic outcomes but also to develop socially and emotionally. For this reason, we actively encourage all students to aim for 97% attendance, as a minimum. If your child’s attendance does fall below 95%, we may have to look at including your child in an attendance monitoring and support group and/or initiating attendance action plans in order to support improvements in their attendance.
Every day and every lesson count. There is absolutely no substitute for high quality lessons taught by subject specialists and as you are probably aware the Academy is fully staffed with specialist teachers. In addition to this we have a well-planned and highly effective curriculum that ensures every lesson adds value and therefore missing just one lesson can have a detrimental impact on your child’s progress. Every day of school missed is 5 hours of learning missed.
Students should attend the academy every day unless they are genuinely unwell. If this is the case please contact the absence line, before 8.30am for every day of absence. Dental and medical appointments must be made outside of academy hours where possible.
Given the current situation with Covid-19 it is really important that we all work together to identify symptoms that are commonly associated with Coronavirus. Symptoms to look out for include a persistent dry cough, a temperature above 37.8°C or the loss or change to sense of taste or smell.
If you have any questions or queries relating to Covid-19 symptoms, please do not hesitate to get in touch for further advice.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that holidays during term time are not permitted.
If you do have any concerns relating to your child’s attendance and would like further support with this please do not hesitate to contact your child’s Director or Learning or Student Provision Officer.
Furthermore, if you would like to discuss any contents of this letter, please do not hesitate to contact us at the Academy.
Yours sincerely
Mr B Hendren
Assistant Headteacher
