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.
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).
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.
Parents must provide a minimum of 4 school weeks notice for a holiday.
Every half-day absence from Kingswood, 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 Lift Kingswood 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.
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@liftkingswood.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.
From September 2024 the government has changed the criteria around when parents or carers will be finedfor their child having poor attendance or going on a term time holiday. For term time holidays costs for fines will go up from £60 to £80 per child if paid within 21 days and from £120 to £160 if paid in 28 days. Additionally, these fines will be per parent of any child taken out of school during term time.
Where a further holiday is then taken within a three year period this will be charged at the higher rate of £160. Fines per parent will be capped at two fines for term time holidays within a three year period and for further holidays after that stage other actions will be considered such as prosecution.
Money raised via fines is only used by the local authority to cover the costs of administering the system, and to fund attendance support. Any extra money is returned to the government.
The Department for Education set out the below responsibilities for you as a parent:
Ensure your child attends every day the school is open except when a statutory reason applies.
Notify the academy as soon as possible when your child has to be unexpectedly absent.
Book any medical appointments around the school day where possible.
Proactively engage with the support offered to prevent the need for more formal support.
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.
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.