Why regular attendance is so important:

We expect all students to have an attendance figure of at least 98% (this means no more than 4 days of absence per academic year).

There is a clear link between high attendance and high achievement. Did you know:

• Among pupils with no missed sessions over KS4, 83.7% achieve grades 9 to 4 in English and Maths compared to 35.6% of pupils who were persistently absent. Pupils who did not achieve grade 9 to 4 in English and Maths GCSEs had an overall absence rate of 8.8% over the key stage, compared with 5.2% among pupils who achieved a grade 4 and 3.7% among pupils who achieved grade 9 to 5 in both English and Maths. 

Rewarding good attendance:

The school acknowledges good attendance in a number of ways:

• Students receive 5 stickers for their rewards chart in the Academic Journal if they have attended 100% of sessions during the previous week. Students receive this reward on the Monday of the following week so should be present in their academic mentor session that day.

• Students all begin each academic year with an attendance badge on their blazer lapel to acknowledge 100% attendance, this badge is collected in when they have an absence session. Students therefore have the opportunity to have x5 attendance badges on their blazer by the end of Year 11.

• Students with 100% attendance are named on our NBA (Never Been Absent) corridor display board.

• Students receive half-termly and termly rewards in rewards assemblies if they have attended for 100% of sessions for the duration of that term or half term.

• Students are awarded at our annual Academy Awards if they have 100% attendance to all sessions for the full academic year or 100% life-time attendance. Lifetime attendance is given to students who have attended 100% of sessions and have attended the school for a minimum of two academic years (6 terms).

Understanding types of absence:

Every half-day absence from Kingswood Academy, has to be classified by the Attendance Officer (not by parents/carers), as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required.

Unauthorised absences are those which Kingswood Academy cannot consider reasonable and for which no agreed leave has been granted. Examples of unauthorised absence may include:

• Parents/carers keeping children off school unnecessarily.

• Truancy before or during the school day.

• Absences which have never been properly explained.

• Children who arrive at school too late to get a session mark.

• Shopping, looking after other children or birthdays.

Holidays:

Holidays during term time will be marked as an unauthorised absence on students’ attendance record. It is important that families take holidays during periods of school holiday. Taking your child on holiday during term time could lead to a fine,  as per Local Authority guidelines.

GP and Medical Appointments:

Where possible, GP and medical appointments need to be booked outside of the school day.  Please note that for students in Years 7, 8, 9 the school day ends at 3pm. For students in Year 10 your child may be required to stay until 4pm for Period 8, so all appointments must be booked after 4pm. For students in Year 11 your child may be required to stay until 5pm for Period 9, so all appointments must be booked after 5pm.

Recently Covid-19 has had a negative impact on students' ability to attend school meaning that it is now more important than ever that students do not miss lessons when it is possible to avoid doing so.

If your child has no alternative but to attend an appointment during the school day, please provide us with as much notice as possible. Where this is the case, your child will be expected to attend school around the appointment and only leave for the time needed to travel to attend the appointment.

For the Academy to be able to authorise any absence for a medical appointment you will be required to email evidence to attendance@thekingswoodacademy.org. This can be in the form of:

• A screenshot of an email or text notification.

• An image or copy of a letter from the doctor/hospital.

Persistent absenteeism:

A student becomes a 'Persistent Absentee' when they miss 10% or more schooling across the school year for any reason. Absence at this level can do considerable damage to any child's educational prospects and it is vital that the school has the full support of parents/carers to tackle this.  

Reporting an Absence:

If you need to inform us that your child is going to be absent, please do so by calling 01482 879967 and select option 1. 

When calling to inform us of your child's absence please be ready to share the following information:

• Child's name.

• Child's Year group.

• Reason for absence.

If a child is absent from school, as part of our safeguarding procedures, we will complete home visits. The aim of these visits is to support families to get the student back into school as soon as possible.