Attendance

Attendance Matters;

At The Harbour School we know that good attendance matters.

We will work in partnership with parents and carers and so seek your full support in ensuring that your child attends The Harbour School every day, on time.

Attendance is extremely important to us at The Harbour School. This is because research demonstrates high levels of attendance and punctuality are crucial in ensuring students achieve their full potential.

The target attendance figure for all students is 100%.

The table below that indicates the number of hours (lessons) lost for learning and impact of reduced attendance from school. We will refer to this chart in discussion with parents and carers to help to maximise school attendance.

There are a number of important steps that you can take as parents and carers to ensure your child maintains a high level of attendance.

• Ensure your child attends every day.
• Ensure the school has up to date addresses and telephone numbers. We will contact you by telephone if your child is absent and you have not contacted us.
• If your child is ill, contact the school every day your child is absent and provide an explanatory note on their return. By phone 01353 740229 or email office@theharbour.academy
• If no contact is received regarding an absence, it is recorded as unauthorised. Ultimately the academy is responsible for deciding if the absence is authorised or not. (For your information, a Penalty Notice may be issued in relation to a child whose attendance at school is less than 90% including unauthorised absences over a given period and a range of interventions have been implemented by the school to raise the attendance.)
• Only genuine absence will be authorised. You will be asked to provide medical certificates and/or proof of medication if your child has a poor attendance record.
• Ensure that medical appointments are made outside of school time.
• Respond to academy letters or telephone calls regarding attendance and punctuality.
• Contact your child’s tutor if you are experiencing difficulty in getting your child into school.

The DfE has confirmed that:

• If a pupil has an attendance level above 90% this is not regarded as ‘regular’ attendance. schools/academies should not set a minimum attendance target as 100% should be expected.
• Legislation requires us to take legal action against parents/carers who fail to ensure their child attends school at a level of 90% and below, overall/accumulative, or for a specific period, g. 90% overall = 19 days of absence throughout the year.
• As set out in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 amended in 2013 – that headteachers continue to have the power to authorise leave of absence, but only in exceptional or unavoidable circumstances and each case should be considered on its own merits.
• Family holidays are no longer allowed to be taken during school term time.  While family holidays are enriching experiences, the school year is designed to give families the opportunity for these breaks without having to disrupt their children’s education. It is for schools to consider the specific details and relevant context behind each request. Schools know their pupils best and are well placed to make those judgements.
• (For your information, guidance states that ‘any parent who takes a child out of school for term time leave for 6 consecutive sessions (3 days) or more over a 4 week period, not authorised by the school (under the exceptional circumstances rule), may receive a Penalty Notice. Therefore, Penalty Notices will be issued for single event absences of at least 3 consecutive school days or more where these absences are unauthorised because they are neither exceptional nor unavoidable.’)

The Harbour School, and all other Meridian Trust academies, continue to support Local Authorities (LA) with improving attendance by using sanctions for absences which fall into the above criteria.  This is under the powers of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (amended 2012).

• A Penalty Notice, resulting in the requirement to pay an instant penalty up to £120 per child, per parent. Failure to pay will result in prosecution before Magistrates Court.
• Prosecution under Section 444(1) Education Act 1996, where if convicted you may be fined up to £1,000.
• Prosecution under Section 444(1a) Education Act 1996 where if convicted you may be fined up to £2,500 and/or a custodial sentence.

We felt it would be useful for you to have the above information to assist you to make good choices in respect of your child’s absences from school.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank you in anticipation of your continued support to improve our student’s attendance levels and progress.