Attendance

At Tudor Grange Academy Kingshurst we have very high expectations for attendance and punctuality. Our minimum attendance level is 96%. To help you achieve this we have:

regular reward assemblies/incentives
first day call home and text
designated attendance team
Attendance Officer
strong pastoral support
multi-agency support

We aim to ensure that all children attend school regularly and on time to enable them to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available.

Meet the Team

The Attendance Team is as follows:

Key Information for Parents

The academy’s target for student attendance is 96% and above.

OUTSTANDING
100-99%	0-2 days off 0-10 hours learning lost	Students to receive rewards (including certificates). Celebration Assemblies. Entered in for prize draws.
GOOD
98-97%	4-6 days off 20-30 hours learning lost	Students and parents will be encouraged to improve this to ‘outstanding’. Improved attendance rewards.
EXPECTED
96%	7.5 days off 37.5 hours learning lost	Students and parents will be encouraged to improve this to ‘outstanding’. Improved attendance rewards.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN
95-93%	9.5-17 days off 47.5-85 hours learning lost	Attendance Officer monitoring and intervention. Letters sent informing parents or carers that attendance is a ’cause for concern’. Request for medical evidence could be asked for. 10 sessions of unauthorised absence may trigger legal action. Attendance panel meeting arranged.
UNSATISFACTORY
92-90%	19-25 days off 95-125 hours learning lost	Any student whose attendance falls below 90% is classed as ‘persistently absent’. Request for medical evidence on any further days of absence. If medical evidence is not provided, absence will be recorded as unauthorised. Attendance panel meeting arranged. EWO home visits. These are spot checks and not pre-arranged. Unauthorised absences will trigger legal action.
CRITICAL
<89%	27+ days off 135+ hours learning lost	EWO home visits. Legal action. Further absences will trigger possible legal action, including fixed-penalty notices.

Absence Procedures

If a child is absent, parents should contact the school by 8:30am on the first day to inform of the reason for absence. Parents are expected to maintain contact with the school throughout the absence.
The school runs a first day absence procedure via a text/call before 9:30am (wherever possible) for students where a reason for absence has not been obtained.
If staff are unable to make contact with parents or ascertain the reasons for a child absence this will be followed up in writing or home visits may be conducted by the attendance team. Attendance concerns will be referred to the Enforcement Team at Solihull Local Authority.

Punctuality

It is important that pupils are punctual so that they do not miss out on the beginning of each school day. Children must attend on time to be given a present mark for the session.
Children arriving after 8.30am will be late for school and have to report to the school attendance office. This will result in a 30 minute late detention, which will be conducted the following day. Parents will be notified by text.
Where a pupil arrives after the register closes this will be classed as an unauthorised absence (code U as per DFE compulsory attendance codes).

Good and Excellent Attendance

The school will reward good and improved attendance regularly through reward schemes and incentives. These may include;

Certificates/Stickers
Letters
Trips
Golden Time
Meetings with Pastoral Managers, senior members of staff and the Principal.

Parents can support regular school attendance by:

Making sure their child leaves for school with plenty of time to arrive on time.
Supporting and encouraging their child by attending parents evenings and other events.
Contacting the school to discuss any concerns regarding their child’s attendance.
Working in partnership with the school to resolve any issues that are impacting on their child’s attendance.
Making any medical appointments outside of school hours whenever possible.
Not taking children out of school for holidays in term time or for other unnecessary absences.

Requests for Leave of Absence (Exceptional Circumstances)

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 have amended Regulation 7 of the 2006 Regulations to prohibit the proprietor of a maintained school granting leave of absence to a pupil except where an application has been made in advance and the proprietor considers that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.
Request for leave of absence form can be collected from the school office. At least two weeks’ notice (wherever possible) needs to be given.