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Attendance and absence procedure

Attendance

At Cedar Mount Academy we believe that regular school attendance is key to enabling students to achieve their full potential. We strive to work with students and their families to ensure excellent attendance and punctuality. Any issues related to absence, attendance or punctuality that you are not sure about, please contact Mrs Jackson, The Attendance Officer, by telephone or email CJackson@cma.bright-futures.co.uk to help us keep the system working efficiently.

We expect the highest standards of attendance and punctuality. Research evidence and national statistics link good attendance to the achievement of academic and social potential. Attendance and punctuality also reflect pupil and parent commitment to achievement and to our school vision.

We encourage all pupils to work towards 100% attendance and set a minimum attendance target of 97% per year (equivalent to the top quartile of all English secondary schools). Excellent attendance is celebrated regularly and recognised at the end of each term via our rewards programme.

Absence Procedure

Please remember to make contact with the school by 8.35am on the first day of absence if your child is unable to attend due to illness. This should be done by telephoning 0161-248-7009  leaving your name, your child’s name, tutor group and reason for absence on the attendance line or sending a message via the ‘Absence Reporting’ function on the Edulink app. Where there are repeated absences due to illness parents will be asked to provide medical evidence i.e appointment cards or prescriptions.

If a student is ill and needs to go home they MUST be collected by an adult from home.

If your child becomes a cause for concern, in particular their attendance is below 95% we will require evidence of illness or appointments, this can be a medical card stamped and dated from your G.P/Medical Centre/Hospital/Dentist or a copy of a prescription. Should we not receive medical evidence the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and may result in a penalty notice being issued or legal court proceedings.

If you know of any planned absence, such as hospital appointments, please give as much notice as possible. Parents are advised all dental and non-urgent doctor appointments are to be made out of school hours. If a student has an appointment in the morning, they should come to school in the afternoon with the appointment card. If a student has an appointment in the morning they will be given permission to leave as long as they can produce an appointment card and MUST be collected by an adult from home.

Students are not allowed to be absent from school to translate for the medical appointments of family or friends. Translators should be provided by the hospital or GP surgery.

Why Attendance Matters

If a student does not attend school, or is not taking part in an approved educational activity, they are classed as ABSENT from school. This means that if your child is off school for any reason, even if they are ill or have medical permission to be off school, they are classed as ABSENT.

100% Attendance = 190 days at school

8 days absence is 96%

12 days absence is 94%

19 days absence is 90%

29 days absence is 85%

38 days absence is 80%

Holiday Requests

Please do not take children out of school during term time for holidays. While we appreciate that it can be more expensive to go away in the school holiday periods, losing valuable school time is at the expense of your child’s education.

The law states that you do not have the right to take your child out of school for holidays during term time. The Local Education Authority works with schools to reduce the numbers of children missing school because of holidays taken in term time and schools, by law, can no longer authorise a holiday during term time. If you decide to take your child out of school during term time for the purpose of a holiday, then this will be classified as an unauthorised absence.

Term Dates

Punctuality

Students must arrive promptly before school starts. SCHOLAR begins at begins at 8.40am, students arriving after this time will be marked as present but arriving late.

Upon arrival after the close of the student entrance, students must immediately report to the community entrance to be marked present/late. The absence will only be authorised if a satisfactory explanation for the late arrival can be provided, for example, attendance at a medical appointment or school bus is running late.

Students arriving late during SCHOLAR i.e. between 8:40am and 9:10am, will be issued with an after school detention for 30 minutes the following day.

Students that are repeatedly late to school will also receive a ‘lates letter’ issued by the attendance officer.

Unauthorised Absence

When students incur 5 sessions (2.5 days) of unauthorised absence they will be closely monitored and further absences can result in a fixed penalty from the local authority. Absence will not be authorised unless circumstances are exceptional.

Legal Sanctions

Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 states that if a parent fails to ensure the regular school attendance of their child if he/she is a registered student at a school and is of compulsory school age, then they are guilty of an offence.

Where there fails to be an improvement in attendance, the Local Authority will be notified and legal action in the Magistrates’ Court may be taken. The school will provide the Local Authority with evidence required for a prosecution under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 and will appear as a prosecution witness if required by the court. This is to ensure that parents realise their own responsibilities in ensuring attendance at school and most importantly about returning children to education.

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Proud to part of the Bright Futures Education Trust
Cedar Mount Academy
Gorton Education Village
50 Wembley Road, Gorton, Manchester, M18 7DT
CEOP