Attendance Matters

Attendance Targets

• Aspirational student attendance target: 100%
• College attendance target: 96%

At Kingsthorpe College we do not apologise for having high expectations of our students across all areas of school life including attendance and punctuality.

It is important that students attend school every day and on time in order that they give themselves the very best chance of success. At Kingsthorpe College we are committed to ensuring that all students have the best opportunity for success and attendance at school is a key foundation to this. Research shows that students who have a higher absence rate do not achieve to in line with their potential.

The diagram below details the number of days in a school year (190) which leaves 175 days in a calendar year out of school. This leaves plenty of time for holidays, appointments and other activities. Therefore, absence should not be taken during term time for any of these activities or reasons.

It also spells out the number of school days per year that are missed when a student has a specific percentage attendance. 90% in an academic test or exam is an excellent result. However, 90% attendance means 19 school days missed resulting in nearly 100 hours of learning time lost. This amount of learning time lost will impact upon a child’s achievement.

 If a student’s attendance falls below 90% they are classified as being Persistently Absent from school (PA) and are at significant risk of underachievement and this could result in a Parent Attendance Contract being put in place and also involvement from the Local Authority School Attendance Support Service. At Kingsthorpe College we work closely with our Local Authority Attendance Support Officer aiming to ensure good attendance for all our students.

Reporting Student Absence

We do understand, at times, children may be ill and unable to attend school. On an occasion where your child is absent from school due to a situation such as illness, we ask that parents / carers inform us of this prior to the start of the school day. This can be done through the Arbor parent app or via email to the following address attendance.team@kingsthorpecollege.org.uk. Alternatively, student absence can also be reported by phone on 01604 716106 – Select 1 to report a student absence in main school and 2 to report a student absence in Post 16.

Where a student absence has not been reported the school will use a “First Day Response” system where members of the Attendance team will send a message via the Arbor app and email to parents / carers to request explanations for absence. Where possible, phone calls will also be made to try and establish the reason for the student absence. This can be a very time consuming task, therefore please report any student absence using the communication outlined above.

If you are aware of a forthcoming absence, we ask that you complete the student absence request form (linked below). This will allow us time to consider if this absence will be authorised and apply the appropriate attendance coding for the absence. It will also allow us to discuss the request for absence with you.

Student Absence Request Form

Planned absence during term time

Kingsthorpe College like many other schools follows the Department for Education's policy by not authorising holidays during term time unless there are 'exceptional circumstances'.

In April 2016, Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) amended its policy on Unauthorised Absences. The time frame for parents receiving a fixed penalty notice has been reduced from ten days to five days or 10 sessions. The updated policy does not allow schools to authorise any absence of five days or more during school time. Head teachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional.

Parents may be issued with a fixed penalty notice by the Local Authority for taking their child on holiday during term time without the consent of the school. The Local Authority may also take legal action if there are repeat offences of unauthorised term time holiday.

Please be aware that the criteria for fixed penalty notices for unauthorised absence has recently been significantly reduced. Should your child’s unauthorised absence meet the threshold and subsequently trigger a fixed penalty notice, it will be structured as follows:

• £60 per parent/adult for each student if paid within 21 days, increasing to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days of issue.
• If the Penalty Notice is not paid within 28 days, the Local Authority may instigate legal proceedings under section 444 (1) of the Education Act 1996. If found guilty of an offence under this Act, parents will receive a criminal record and could be fined up to £1000.

Punctuality:

Good punctuality is important not only for school but as a life-skill. The school gates open at 8:25am and we expect all students to be in their tutor rooms ready for the start of the school day at 8:40am. For any student who arrives after 8:40am, we operate a ‘late gate’ system where students are required to enter school via the main reception and sign in at reception. Students arriving late to school will receive 1 Core Value Breach for the day and spend their breaktime in their year group FINE (Failure In Normal Expectations) detention.

A student arriving significantly late to school will receive a negative attendance code (U – Late after registers have closed) for their morning session. This will have a negative impact on the student’s individual attendance percentage.

Arriving just 5 minutes late every day equals missing 3 days of education over the whole year. Arriving half an hour late every day is equivalent to 18 days absence.

How can we all ensure positive attendance and punctuality? 

If you have any questions around attendance and punctuality please contact us, we are always happy to talk.

Senior Leader in charge of Attendance: Mr Jamie Hartnett.

Student Attendance Officers: Mrs Cherrie Halling and Miss Sharon Kennedy.

Email: attendance.team@kingsthorpecollege.org.uk

Phone: 01604 716106