Attendance & Lateness

The DfE expects every student to attend school everyday. As a school, we will start to monitor your child’s attendance if it drops to below 96%.

If your child’s attendance drops further below 90% (minimum benchmark set by the government) in a school year, the child is considered to be persistently absent from school. This means they will be very closely monitored by the house team and supportive measures will be undertaken.

Anyone missing 19 days of school (38 sessions) would achieve a maximum attendance of 90%. Therefore, any further day missed beyond 19 days would mean a student would end the year as a Persistent Absentee – having missed more than 114 hours of learning through absence.

Approximately 3.5 days (7 sessions) of absence each half term = Persistent Absentee

Gates open at 8.15am and close at 8.40am. School starts at 8.40am in form time. After 8.40am the students must enter the school via the front entrance. Any student arriving to school after the gate closes are officially late and will be coded on the register with an ‘L’ and a sanction will be given. Please contact the school (0161 96 0160 or flixtongirls@vantageacademies.co.uk) if you believe your child will be late to school for any reason beyond their control to keep the school informed from a safeguarding perspective.

Whatever the reason for her being late, we are unable to record a ‘/’ mark (present) on the register. Those who arrive in school between 8.40 and 10.00 will be recorded as late using the register code L.

Students who arrive after the close of the register (10.00 and later) will be recorded as absent for the morning session, using the register code U.

Persistent poor punctuality and attendance is a behaviour issue and could result in a behaviour review meeting or, in extreme circumstance, exclusion. When a student is persistently late without good reason and the school’s efforts to effect improvement have been unsuccessful, it may be necessary to refer the matter to the Local Authority via the Senior Leadership Team.

Please contact the school on flixtongirls@vantageacademies.co.uk at least 48hrs prior to a known absence.

We discourage all planned absences because of the impact absence can have on a child’s learning and subsequent outcomes; however we recognise there are unavoidable circumstances. Contact us and the school will then be in touch to discuss or approve. Planned absence from school may be authorised by the school but the absence will still affect the student’s overall attendance figure. Authorisation maybe given for:

• Unavoidable medical/dental appointments
• Religious observance
• Family funerals
• Study leave
• A child caring for a sick or disabled family member (limited duration)
• Involvement in an approved public performance
• Involvement in an approved sporting activity
• Attendance at post-16 or University interviews
• Approved work experience

Absence from school will not be authorised for:

• Family holidays
• Shopping
• Looking after brothers, sisters or unwell parents
• Minding the house
• Birthdays
• Avoidable medical appointments

If parents decide to take a child on holiday, despite the request for authorised absence being declined, they are advised that this may result in the issuing of a Fixed Penalty Notice (Fine) under section 444 of the 1996 Act by the Local Authority.

We request all medical appointments are made outside of school hours where possible. If that is not possible, we expect the student to return to school at the earliest opportunity via the reception area to maximise their time in school. If a student needs to leave school for a legitimate appointment they should seek an orange slip from the House Office and sign out via reception. Written or verbal (phone call) parent/carer consent is required for the school to authorise a student to leave school premises to attend an appointment. Please follow the planned absence process.

Please call 0161 960 0160 (press option 2) before 8.30am to inform us if your child will be absent from school and what the reason for the absence is; this will stop us worrying about your child and will usually prevent us contacting you. Unplanned absence from school may be authorised if it is for the following reasons:

• Sickness
• Emergency medical/dental appointments
• Exceptional family circumstances, such as a bereavement

If a child’s attendance drops below 90% (minimum benchmark set by the government) in a school year, the child is considered to be persistently absent from school.

Anyone missing 19 days of school (38 sessions) would achieve a maximum attendance of 90%. Therefore, any further day missed beyond 19 days would mean a student would end the year as a Persistent Absentee – having missed more than 114 hours of learning through absence.

Approximately 3.5 days (7 sessions) of absence each half term = Persistent Absentee.

You can track your child’s attendance on our Arbor parent/carer app and find out more details about persistently absent in our Attendance and Lateness Policy.

The government expects schools to gather evidence and follow up on any families not adhering to the minimum expectations. We will invite you and your child to take part in supportive processes and meetings. We will give opportunities for attendance to improve and we work with you.

For general attendance questions, please contact your child’s Head of House:

• Mr Ashurst – Head of Anne Frank House
• Miss Collier – Head of Helen Keller House
• Miss McGougan – Head of Rosa Parks House

For requests for absence. Please contact:

• Mrs Cummins – Attendance Officer