Topic outline

  • Absence and Attendance


    • "Children who attend school less regularly are less likely to get the GCSEs that they need"

      (Children's Commissioner)



      "[Excellent attendance] is essential for pupils to get the most out of their school experience, including their attainment, wellbeing, and wider life choices"
      (Department for Education)


    • Our Attendance Policy can be found here: SCHOOL ATTENDANCE POLICY

    • SAFEGUARDING - Links to third party advice and support for students and parents / carers / guardians

    • Our School Day


    • Attendance Expectations (students)

      • Aim for 100% attendance, but attend no less than 97%. Students should be resilient and attend school everyday.
      • Attend Yardleys School every day and on time.
      • The school day starts at 8:40am and students are expected in school at this time. Students will be considered late if they arrive at their first lesson after 8.45am. Our AM register closes at 8.50am and our PM register closes at 1.55pm.
      • Attend all lessons promptly.

    • Attendance Expectations (parents - including how parents can help)

      • Make sure that their children attend Yardleys School on time every day that the school is open. At Yardleys School we require all students to be reaching the attendance target of at least 97%.
      • Make sure that their children arrive in the building at 8.40am each morning ready for school.
      • Contact the school by telephone (Head of Year/Attendance Officer) on the first day of absence and each subsequent day of absence if their child is unable to attend for any reason, followed by a written note on return.
      • Arrange medical appointments outside school time where possible.
      • Ensure that no holidays are booked during term time. If parents / carers do need to request a leave of absence, this must be done via school reception on the school’s Leave of Absence Request Form.
      • Contact their child’s Head of Year to discuss any concerns that they may have and which could affect their child’s attendance.
      • Ensure that the school has up to date contact details; we must have at least two contacts for each student, but we would recommend that parents provide four contacts per student.
      • Where a student's attendance is below expectation or is a concern, provide documentary evidence of medical conditions that have an ongoing effect on attendance.
      • Obey the Law. The Education Act (1996 & 2002) requires parents/carers to ensure that their child/children attend school on a regular basis. Non-compliance may result in legal action against parents/carers when they fail to cooperate with their legal obligation or attendance remains a cause for concern despite school interventions and action.


      Parents, carers and guardians can help support their child's attendance by

      • Regularly communicating the importance of school attendance to your child – remember, excellent attendance at school improved GCSE outcomes. Make sure your child goes to school every day. • Establish a good routine in the mornings and evenings so your child is prepared for the school day ahead.
      • Take family holidays outside term time
      • Ensure your child arrives at school on time.
      • Arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours when possible.
      • Always inform the school if your child is absent due to illness.
      • Take truancy seriously – if your child is not attending school as you expect they may be putting themselves at risk – Who are they with? What are they doing?
      • Talk to your child about school and take an interest in their school work (including homework).
      • Praise and reward your child’s effort and achievements at school.

      **Please contact your child's Head of Year, or our Attendance & Welfare Officer Ms Akhtar, immediately if you need support with a child's attendance - we want to help!

    • Attendance Expectations (school)

      • Promoting excellent attendance and reducing absence. We expect all students to be reaching an attendance target of at least 97%.
      • Keeping regular and accurate records of each student’s attendance and reporting this to the Department for Education and Birmingham City Council.
      • Working with families, in a timely fashion, to address poor patterns of absence and punctuality, based upon current attendance data and in line with current legislation and guidance. This includes contact by telephone on (at least) the first day of absence, home visits by a member of school staff, attendance meetings with students and parents / carers and signposting / referring for additional support. The school may also take the view that legal intervention is required to ensure attendance at school.
      • Recognising good attendance in a variety of ways, including: recognition of good attendance by Form Tutors and Heads of Year, recognising good attendance on school reports, awarding attendance prizes and taking attendance into account when allocating places on rewards trips.


    • Why Attendance everyday is so important

      Excellent attendance is vital so that students at Yardleys School:

      • Fulfil their academic potential.  Students who have excellent school attendance make more progress and achieve better GCSE results – the more that students are in school, the more that they will learn and remember.
      • Are able to engage with and benefit from extra-curricular and whole-child activities.  These lessons and activities help to develop confidence, resilience, communication and oracy, empathy, reflection and other characteristics that are vital when entering the post-16 study and employment.
      • Build and sustain stronger friendships with their peers.


    • Legitimate reasons for absence from school

      There may be very rare occasions when a student needs to be away from school.  However, please remember that when a student is off school, they will miss at least five lessons (six on a Wednesday), therefore, absence for medical reasons should only occur when a student has a significant illness. 

      As way of example, students should not be absent from school for the following reasons:

      • A headache.
      • Stomach pains.                                                                                                       
      • A cold, runny nose, temperature of below 38C or sore throat
      • Toothache.
      • A sports injury that has not required medical attention.
      • Going on a school trip or educational visit the previous day.
      • Any other ailment that is non-contagious and is not sufficient to prevent 

    • Links to legal interventions

      Yardleys School will follow the expectations set out in The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Ammendment) Regulations 2024, which can be found at: The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (legislation.gov.uk).

      • Leave in term time (unauthorised holidays during term time) - Yardleys School follow the guidance set out by the Department for Education and Birmingham City Council.  Referrals to Birmingham City Council will be made for students who miss ten continuous sessions (equivalent to five days) of school due to a leave of absence during term time; such a referral is likely to lead to the issuing of a penalty notice and £80 or £160 fine for each parent per student, depending on how soon the payment is made.

       

      Unsatisfactory attendance - Yardleys School follow the guidance set out by the Department for Education and Birmingham City Council.  The referral process to Birmingham City Council will be completed once interventions to address concerning levels of absence have not been effective and attendance to school continues to be a concern.  If and when this process is utilised, the following potential outcomes should be noted:

       

      i)             Issuing penalty notices: Each parent receives a penalty notice for each child who has unauthorised absence. On the first occasion, the penalty is £80 or £160 depending on how soon the payment is made. If there are two parents and two children the total penalties could be up to £640. Failure to pay may result in prosecution.  If a second penalty notice is issued within three years of the first, the penalty will be £160 per parent, per student.  Under the legislation highlighted above, a third penalty notice will no longer be issued, instead,

       

      ii)           Taking parents to court for unauthorised absence: Education Act 1996 Section 444(1) – court can fine each parent up to £1,000 per child, order payment of prosecution costs and/or impose a Community Order.

       

      iii)          Taking parents to court for persistent unauthorised absence:  Education Act 1996 Section 444(1A) – court can fine each parent up to £2,500 per child, order payment of the prosecution costs, impose a Community Order and/or sentence you to a period of imprisonment of up to 3 months.

      Being taken to court could result in parents or carers having a criminal record.