The first step towards securing excellent qualifications is to be in school every day. We know that before anything else has an impact a child learns most effectively in school. As such we have an unwavering approach to attendance. We expect all students in, every day.

Rewards

We will reward students with 100% attendance by entering them into prize draws each term. We will also run reward trips for children in Key Stage 3 at the end of the year, for any student who has 100% attendance for the year. Students will be rewarded with 100 club bronze, silver and gold badges for having 100% attendance across the year.

Attendance

The target attendance figure for all students is a minimum of 97% attendance. Based on current attendance figures all students will be placed in one of the following groups below.

Group 1: No Concern - Green Group The child attends for 97.3% - 100% of the time. Group 2: Risk of Underachievement - Yellow Group The child attends for 96.2% - 97.2% of the time. Group 3: Serious Risk of Underachievement - Amber Group The child attends for 95% - 96.1% of the time. Group 4: Severe Risk of Underachievement - Pink Group The child attends for 90% - 94.9% of the time. Group 5: Extreme Risk of Underachievement - Red Group The child attends for 0% - 89.9% of the time.

Punctuality

We expect every student in time every day. The whistle is blown at 8:27. Any student who is not in the academy building at 8:25 will have an immediate 15 minute catch up. There are no excuses for this.

Absence

If your child is absent, you must contact the academy in the morning to inform us of the reason. The school can be contacted on (0)208 443 3113. All medical appointments should be, where possible, organised outside of the academy day. We will not authorise holidays in term time, and parents may receive a fixed penalty notice if they do organise holidays in term time. If your child’s attendance drops, we will contact you to discuss next steps and support to get them back into school. We want every child in school every day.

Fines

Fines can be issued when the attendance of a child does not improve. When the school feels that meetings and contact with parents has not helped to improve the attendance of a child or if parents/carers are not engaging to help improve the attendance of their child we will refer the case to the Local authority and seek a penalty notice.

It is a criminal offence under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act to fail to secure regular attendance of a registered pupil at the academy. On conviction, the magistrates’ court may impose a fine of up to £2,500 or imprisonment for up to 3 months, or both. In addition, you would obtain a criminal record.

• A penalty notice may be considered in the following circumstances:
• Cases of overt truancy
• Cases of parentally condoned absence
• Instance where parents take children out of school for leave in the term time without the permission of the Principal.
• Instances of excessive delayed return from leave in term-time.
• Persistent lateness.

Thank you for working in partnership with us to achieve the highest possible levels of attendance and punctuality at Ark John Keats Academy.