Attendance

Attendance

At Grove Academy, we are committed to providing a full and effective education and a positive experience of school life, enabling students to reach their full potential. Students benefit from regular and punctual school attendance and are more likely to achieve 5 or more GCSE’s and positive outcomes.

All students must be in school on time to give them a good start to the day.

Being in school is not just important to your child’s academic achievement but also their wellbeing and wider development.  There is evidence to suggest that regular school attendance is a key mechanism to support children and young people's educational, economic and social outcomes. Schools can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a contributes to better mental health and wellbeing.

Attendance at school is crucial to prepare young people for successful transition to adulthood, and to support their longer term economic and social participation in society.

Ten good reasons why your child should attend school every day:

1. They will achieve better grades in their all their milestone assessments and finally GCSEs.

2. They will get a good well-rounded education.

3. They will learn more.

4. School will help develop the habits needed to be successful.

5. School will help build their resilience.

6. School will help boost their confidence & self-esteem.

7. They will have time with their friends.

8. Their mental health benefits from routine.

9. They can experience new things.

10. They will have more choices as they move on to the next stage of their life.

Working Together

Parents can help improve students’ attendance by:

• Booking all leave, breaks and family holidays in the school holidays and outside of term-time.
• Arranging medical appointments outside of school hours wherever possible. If you do have to take your child out during school hours, to minimise the lost learning, collect your child from school and bring them back after the appointment.
• Talking with your child(ren), encourage them and model resilience to persevere if they are feeling a little under the weather.
• If your child has great attendance, please praise them and recognise their great learning ethic.
• Be aware of your child’s attendance through class charts
• Establish a good routine in the mornings and evenings so your child is prepared for the school day ahead.
• Ensure your child arrives at school on time – not late.
• Always inform the school if your child is absent due to illness.
• Talk to your child about school and take an interest in their schoolwork (including homework).
• Attend parent evenings and other school events.
• Discuss any problems or difficulties with the academy – staff are there to help and will always be supportive.

Absence

If your child is absent due to sickness or a medical condition, it is the parents’ responsibility to inform the school on the first day of absence and every day thereafter.

Where possible, parents must provide a sick note from the Doctor to authorise the absence.

Children should still attend school if they have a mild illness such as a cough or cold without a temperature

For guidance about whether a child should be in school if they are unwell, visit: Should my child go to school/nursery today? :: Frimley HealthierTogether

If your child is frequently absent from school then someone from school will be in touch to find out why and to may work with you to devise an action plan for improving your child’s attendance and punctuality.

Frequent or prolonged absence is proven to have a negative impact on children’s achievement and outcomes.

Request for leave during term time.

Parents do not have an automatic right to remove their children from school during term time. Parents are expected to arrange family holidays during the school holidays. The school term dates are published a year in advance and can be found here.

In line with government guidelines, requests for leave of absence for family holidays during term time will not be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances. The ‘Leave of Absence Request’ form is available from the main school reception and must be completed along with supporting documentation at least two weeks in advance. If the leave of absence is denied and the student is absent during the requested period, parents may be liable to receive a fixed penalty notice from the local authority as outlined below.