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Nottingham Secondary Academy

Attendance

At Nottingham Academy we believe it is vitally important for pupils to attend school regularly and on time. This will give them the best opportunity to progress and achieve their full potential. Good attendance and punctuality encourages pupils to become responsible and resilient individuals which will serve them well in their future working lives.

We expect our pupils to be in the Academy from 8.30am until 3.00pm.

We encourage pupils in examination years to remain on site until 4pm for further intervention. All pupils have the freedom to attend our extracurricular offering. 

Standards

We expect every pupil to attend school every day. If attendance drops below 96% our pastoral teams will intervene. 96% equates to pupils having 7.5 days absence over the whole academic year.


Pupils should arrive on time every day. Pupils should be on the Academy site by 8.25am, ready for the start of registration at 8.30am.


We will support parents in their legal responsibility to ensure their child attends school regularly and punctually.


At Nottingham Academy we believe family holidays should not be taken during term time. We will not authorise requests for holidays during term time and will consider issuing parents Penalty Notices if holidays or other unauthorised leave of absence is taken. Leave of absence requests will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.
Parents should contact us by telephone on the first day and each subsequent day of their child’s absence.

Recognising Good Attendance and Punctuality 

At Nottingham Academy we understand the importance of rewarding good attendance and have developed our rewards systems to ensure that all students who meet our expectations are recognised and rewarded.

Addressing Poor Attendance 

We work diligently to support all pupils to ensure excellent attendance. We will communicate regularly with parents and provide support to overcome barriers to
good attendance.


We will also involve our Attendance Team to work with families when attendance falls to unacceptable levels. Any pupil whose attendance falls below 90% and meets interim thresholds, throughout the year, is likely to be classified as a Persistent Absentee (PA). In these cases, further absence due to illness or medical reasons will not be authorised unless supported by additional medical evidence such as a GP appointment card or letter. Pupils in this attendance category will be monitored closely by our Attendance Officers who will conduct regular home visits and hold meetings with parents. Should there be no improvement in attendance, in these cases, we will seek intervention from the Local Authority Education Welfare Service to consider issuing a Penalty Notice in accordance with The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2012 or ultimately pursue court action under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996.

Unavoidable Absence

Absences that are considered unavoidable will be authorised by Nottingham Academy. These include:

  • Genuine illness unless your child is classed as a Persistent Absentee
  • Attending a religious festival or ceremony with family
  • A medical or dental appointment that could not be made outside of school hours
  • Being in the hospital or having hospital treatment
  • Attending a funeral with family
  • Attending an interview for a job or a place at a college
  • Taking part in a public performance or an examination
Avoidable Absence

Absences that are considered avoidable will not be authorised by Nottingham Academy. These include:

  • Trivial illness
  • Looking after the house or waiting for workmen/deliveries etc
  • Being on holiday – Penalty Notice may be issued
  • Looking after brothers or sisters, including dropping them off at school or nursery
  • Helping with housework or a family business
  • Being unhappy or not getting on with others at school
  • Being up late the night before, including for family problems

 

Education Welfare Officer: Mrs J Parsons

Attendance Officer (Year 7 and Year 8): Mrs M Bradshaw

Attendance Officer (Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11): Mrs K Winfield

 

To report an absence, please call the school on 0115 748 3380