Report Absence

Why attendance is important:

At The Priory Witham Academy, we believe attending school regularly is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and wider development. Evidence shows that the students with the highest attendance throughout their time in school gain the best GCSE and A Level results. (Education Hub)
The link between attendance and attainment is clear:

• In 2018/19, just 40% of persistently absent (PA) children in KS2 achieved expected KS2 standards, compared with 84% of pupils who were regular attenders.
• And 36% of PA children in KS4 got 9 to 4 in their English and maths GCSEs, also compared with 84% of regular attenders.

Attendance policy           A Guide to Good Attendance - Priory Witham

Attendance Expectations:

Regular school attendance is an important part of giving children the best possible start in life. The aim should be to attend 100% of the time.
Students who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well in exams. Good attendance also shows potential employers that a young person is reliable. Research suggests that students who attend school regularly could also be at less risk of getting involved in antisocial behaviour or crime.

School attendance:

Lincolnshire County Council Attendance Strategy

If you have concerns or need support with your child’s attendance, please contact the academy as soon as you can to ensure early support is available.

Phase Leaders & Year Teams Early Years - Mrs C Logan Year 1, 2 and 3 - Mrs K Dawson Year 4 - Mrs A Gridley Year 5 and 6 - Mrs B Saville Year 7 - Mrs S Kraatz, Miss L Reddington Year 8 - Miss J Worrell, Mrs C Philips Year 9 - Mrs K Hart, Mr B Whalley Year 10 - Mrs O Willson, Mr T Jelley Year 11 - Mr J Lawson-Smyth, Miss K Goldsby Sixth Form - Mrs R Clark, Mr A Eyre

Punctuality:

It is also important to arrive at school on time. If a child arrives late for school every day, their learning begins to suffer. Below is a graph showing how being late for school every day over a school year adds up to lost learning time over one academic year.

Children should have arrived at the academy by the times below, depending on their phase.

 

Absence Processes:

1. Visit our school website or SIMS Parent App.
2. Navigate to the Absentee Reporting page (Report Absence)
3. Fill out the online form with the following details:
   • Child's Name
   • Form or Class
   • Reason for Absence
   • Parent Contact Details

Important Information:

• Absence reports must be submitted no later than 9:15 am on the day of the absence.
• We will no longer accept absence reports via email or phone.
• Any absence reported after 9:15 am may receive an automatic email requesting further information on the reason for the absence.

In the event that we have been unable to contact you, a phone call or email will be made asking you to contact the Academy and provide a reason for absence. Contact will be made on each subsequent day if a reason for the absence has not been provided. By the third day of absence, if a reason for the absence has still not been provided, a home visit will be completed by Academy staff.

Illness and Appointments

We urge parents to ensure that if their children need to be absent for appointments, they are only out of school for the duration of the appointment, returning either afterwards or beforehand. Additionally, parents and carers will be requested to provide appointment letters or texts to authorize such absences.

If there is uncertainty regarding whether a child should attend school due to illness, we encourage parents to contact us and speak to a staff member. We are committed to the well-being of our students and will always send home those who we believe are too unwell to attend school.

If you are in any doubt, please use the website below for advice.

Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Term Time Holiday and Requesting a Leave of Absence:

We kindly ask for continued support in refraining from taking term-time holidays, as this significantly affects your child's education. Holidays during term time, in line with our Attendance Policy and the DfE guidance, the Headteacher will only grant a leave request in exceptional circumstances (to be determined by the academy). Parents/Carers who believe they have exceptional circumstances must make a request for a leave of absence to the Headteacher no less than one month prior to the holiday (a form can be obtained from the academy reception or using the link below). If the circumstances are not considered to be exceptional, and permission to take a term-time holiday is not granted by the Headteacher, but the holiday is still taken, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and a Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued by the Local Authority.
 

Leave of absence request form (paper)

Leave of absence request form (online)

 

Celebrating Attendance at Priory Witham

Primary	Secondary
Weekly class attendance trophy Celebratory cake Termly attendance certificates Annual attendance certificates	Students with attendance above 96% get 2 house points each week The form with the highest attendance, receives a trophy and sweets, each week in assembly Each module, students with attendance above 96% receive reward passes. Module reward trips.

What can parents/carers do to support their child?

• Support their learning.
• Talk positively about school and let your child know you're there to support their learning at home,
• Support them at exam time,
• Attend parents' evenings, and (as much as you can)
• Go along to other school events.
• Develop their resilience – is your child really too ill to attend school?  Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)