Attendance
At Newmarket Academy we understand the importance of a student’s attendance on their progress and emotional wellbeing. We monitor attendance regularly and offer support through our pastoral system for any student who may find attending school a challenge.
For a brief guide of attendance for parents and carers, please click here.
Reporting Absence
If a child needs to miss a school day, this should be reported by 8.30am to our Attendance Officer, Mrs Barney via email at: attendance@newmarketacademy.co.uk or alternatively, telephone: 01638 664412 and select option 1 to leave a message.
We ask that you give full details of the absence and avoid using generic phrases such as “poorly” or “sick” – tell us what symptoms your child has and when you expect them to be back at school. You must repeat this for every day of absence, unless by prior agreement with the school. This helps us to safeguard your child as we will otherwise not know if they have left home and not arrived at school. We may call you back if we need more information.
Planned Term-Time Absence
We strongly recommend that families do not book leave during term time. In accordance with government guidelines, any absence due to term time leave will be unauthorised and parents/carers liable to a penalty notice unless exceptional circumstances apply. Requests for term time leave must be made to the Headteacher in writing, using the online form below and these will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
If the absence is not authorised and is for 5 days or over, Penalty Notices will be issued to the parents/guardians/caregivers who went on the Term Time Leave.
The fine will be £160 if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.
A second penalty notice for the same parent in respect of the same child is charged at the higher rate.
Only 2 penalty notices can be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within a 3-year rolling period, if Term Time Leave occurs again, a prosecution sanction will be used.
If absence is for more than 21 days, a prosecution sanction will be used.
Support for school attendance
Sometimes your child may not want to attend school. We encourage parents and students to be open and honest with us about the reasons for absence.
If your child does not want to attend school, please contact your child’s Head of Year, who can assist you and your child to ensure your child attends school. You can contact the Learning Mentors by telephone on 01638664412 or via email at admin@newmarketacademey.co.uk
Where attendance is not meeting our expectations, we will use a range of measures to improve this. This can be through letters, parental meetings, interventions from our early help offer, penalty notices or involvement of the school appointed EWO (Education Welfare Officer) as examples. We will always look to support yours and your child’s engagement with school.
For students with medical conditions or other circumstances that may at times prevent regular attendance we will fully support each student to be able to attend as much as possible.
If our school has any safeguarding concerns about a student who is absent, we will share information with other agencies as we deem necessary to ensure a child’s safety and well-being.
Registration
The morning register will be called promptly at 8.35 am during tutor time. Any student arriving after 8.40am but before 9.05am will be marked as late (no longer than 30 minutes after the calling of the register). Any student arriving after the registers have closed at 9.05am will be marked with unauthorised absence for this lateness.
The afternoon register will be called promptly at 1.35 pm at the start of lesson 3. Any student arriving after 1.35 pm but before 1.50 pm will be marked as late. Any student arriving after the registers have closed at 1.50 pm will be marked as unauthorised absence for this length of lateness.
Punctuality and Lateness
Students are expected to arrive at school and, attend line up, be in the correct room for registration and lessons on time every day. It is very disruptive to their own education and that of others in their class, if they are late. Students who arrive after the register closes in the morning and during lesson 3 will be marked as unauthorised for that whole session. A student who is persistently absent by reason of lateness will be dealt with in the same way as other students with an emerging pattern of absence.
Illness & injury
If your child becomes ill or injured whilst at school, they need to inform a member of staff. Families will be contacted by reception if their child needs to go home. Students should not contact home if they are unwell. This is due to the school needing to be aware so they can support in the first instance and ensure there is no immediate issue that needs medical attention. This will also stop any distress being caused by a call home, especially if the issue can be rectified in school. Where a student contacts home and a parent/carer arrives at school to collect them without school communication, the absence will then be unauthorised.
Please read the Trust policy which is based on current government and Local Authority guidance and statutory regulations – https://www.unitysp.co.uk/documents/attendance-policy/
