FAQs

You should notify the Attendance Officer by calling 01322 626600 and selecting Option 1. Please be prepared to provide your child’s full name, year group and reason for absence, as well as a return date if known. If you have a medical letter or a note to explain a student absence, this should be handed to a member of the office team. For medical appointments or any other authorised absence, your child will need to make their way to the reception area to await collection. Please ensure your child has a note stating the time they are to be collected.

All lessons start promptly at 08.30. We expect students to arrive before 8.20. If your child arrives after this time they should register their arrival using the reception sign in system. Persistent lateness is not acceptable and parents / carers will be contacted - you may review your child’s punctuality using the My Child At School system. 

If persistent lateness continues a penalty notice may be sent by Kent County Council and in school sanctions applied.

The Academy will not authorise such holidays unless in exceptional circumstances. Parents / carers should write a letter directly to the Principal where each request will be assessed individually.

All medication must be stored in the main reception and never carried by a student on site. All medicines must be clearly labelled with your child’s name by the issuing pharmacy. A medication permission form will need to be completed by the parent / carer.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, we will not provide medicines for headaches or other minor ailments. This includes analgesics such as paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen. All medication held by the school will need to be prescribed by a medical professional.

You should update these details using the My Child At School application.

If you are moving within the local area please update us with new address details as soon as possible. You can do this through updating your personal details on My Child At School. If you are moving out of the area and your child is changing school, you should put this in writing to your child’s Head of College and hand this to the main reception.

You should contact the school office by calling 01322 626600 or by emailing: info@theleighutc.org.uk.

In an emergency, please contact the main reception who can pass a message on to your child. Students will only be removed from a lesson to speak to a parent / carer in an emergency. Students must not have their mobile phone switched on or in use during the Academy day. Please refrain from contacting your child directly to ensure we can support students appropriately. Students are not allowed to use their mobiles during the Academy day under any circumstances. If they are seen using their mobile device it will be confiscated.

If a child is feeling ill they should report this to their teacher or Student Services Manager at the start of a lesson or at break or lunch time. If it is judged to be better for your child to return home, a member of staff will contact you directly. Please ensure that we hold accurate contact information for you. Students should not call home themselves using a mobile device nor contact parents / carers to request collection. Students are not permitted to leave the Academy site without permission. 

You will need to attend the site to collect your child if they are being sent home unwell.

What if I wish for my child to attend an appointment alone / independently?

You should follow the guidance above, as well as ensure you have shared your authorisation of such events with the main reception.

What if my child is participating in extracurricular activities?

Ensure you and your child know the name of the staff member leading the activity and when it is scheduled completion time. You will be able to review this in My Child At School. 

Whilst staff members will always do their best to locate lost items, The Academy cannot accept any responsibility for lost items. Please ensure all items are labelled clearly and that your child refrains from bringing items of value onto site. All lost property items will be held at reception.

There is a bicycle storage facility on site although students are required to provide their own bicycle chain. The Academy accepts no responsibility for cycle security whilst in storage during the Academy day. We encourage you to insure and watermark your child’s bicycle as a safeguarding and security precaution.

To avoid congestion we ask that parents / carers do not park or congest the turning circle directly outside of the Academy’s electronic gates but instead park nearby on the straights of the road. We also ask that vehicles do not enter the site to collect students unless an arrangement has been agreed to do so. All vehicles should comply with the 5mph request as many students will be crossing the road at the beginning and end of each Academy day.

Students bringing a packed lunch should consume their food and drink items in the designated restaurant seating areas. Students are not permitted to leave the site to purchase lunch items during the Academy day.

Entitlement to Free School Meals is determined by a national net income scale. Free Schools Meals will be assigned to a student’s biometric finger reading and applied to their purchases (parents / carers can add additional funds should they wish to do so).

If you believe your child should be entitled to Free School Meals you should complete the application form supplied by Kent County Council and return this to them. If your child already received free school meal entitlement at primary school, you will need to reapply for secondary school via the KCC website.

In the first instance, this should be raised with your child’s Form Tutor. The Form Tutor is the staff member assigned to provide pastoral and wellbeing support for your child. However, your child may wish to speak to their Student Services Manager or a subject teacher specifically. All staff will be able to provide appropriate advice or seek someone that can better assist.