Attendance Information for Parents and Carers
Monkton Wood Academy – January 2024
We would like to extend a big thank you to all our Monkton Wood parents and carers for supporting your children to attend school and engage so well with their learning during the Autumn term. We know that this reflects the value our families place on children learning in school every day. We are looking forward to working with you to continue to support best attendance and learning for the rest of the year.
At Monkton Wood, we want and expect our students to attend school every day, unless they are really not well enough to. We believe that children who attend school regularly are more likely to feel settled in school, maintain friendships, keep up with their learning and gain the greatest benefit from their education. Attending school on time every day also helps students form good habits which can stay with them throughout their educational journey and on into the workplace.
You can find your child’s attendance information by logging on to your parent account at www.classcharts.com. For support with this, please contact your child’s year lead at school (see below for contact details).
If your child has a low percentage of attendance, this can be improved by better attendance for the rest of the year.
Support for your child in school
Please remember that we are here to help in any way we can. If you have any concerns about your child that you wish to discuss with us, please do get in touch. If we cannot help directly, we will work with you to help you find other support.
You can contact us by emailing your child’s tutor, or one of their year leaders.
Year 7
Raising Standards Leader: Isabelle Ashton [email protected]
Pastoral Year Leader: Sarah Kew [email protected]
Key Stage Leader: KS3: Joe Draper [email protected]
Year 8
Raising Standards Leader: James Sussex [email protected]
Pastoral Year Leader: Kelly Bolger [email protected]
Key Stage Leader: KS3: Joe Draper [email protected]
Year 9
Raising Standards Leader: Katrina Darley [email protected]
Pastoral Year Leader: vacancy
Key Stage Leader: KS3: Joe Draper [email protected]
Year 10
Raising Standards Leader: Zoe Draper [email protected]
Pastoral Year Leader: Lauren Govier [email protected]
Key Stage Leader: KS4: Jen Martin [email protected]
Year 11
Raising Standards Leader: Pete Cammish [email protected]
Pastoral Year Leader: Ashleigh Potter [email protected]
Key Stage Leader: KS4: Jen Martin [email protected]
We can support your child best when they are in school and have outlined below some important information about attendance expectations at Heathfield School.
Arriving at school on time
Arriving at school on time is not only essential for the student’s own learning, it encourages habits of good timekeeping and lessens any possible classroom disruption. When a student arrives late, they miss important events like teacher instructions and learning introductions; this can seriously disadvantage them.
All students are expected to arrive at school by 8.55am for the start of the school day.
If a student arrives at school after this, they will be marked in the register as late and this may lead to detentions in their break/lunchtime.
Staff may ask to meet with parents/carers of students who arrive late to school, to discuss reasons for lateness and solutions to support them to attend on time.
Illness
Students should attend school on every day the school is open, unless they are not well enough to.
Minor ailments should not be a reason for staying at home. If your child attends school when feeling slightly under the weather, but feels worse during the school day, they can let a member of staff know and we will contact you to let you know if we think your child needs to go home. If you aren’t sure whether or not to send your child to school, please contact us as above and we will be happy to support and advise where appropriate.
If your child is too ill to attend school, you must notify the school before 8.45am on the first day of absence. If your child is ill for more than one day, you will need to notify the school on each morning of the absence, unless otherwise agreed.
To report an absence, contact the Attendance Team on the main school number 01823 412396 and follow the instructions.
Please clearly explain the symptoms your child has, when the symptoms started, and when you expect your child to be well enough to return to school.
By law, schools must record all student absences and whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised.
We are aware from feedback from parents that there have been errors in a very small number of students’ attendance records. Please let us know if you feel that a mistake has been made in your child’s attendance record so that we can correct it. Additional training has been completed by all staff to avoid these inconsistencies in future.
Medical/Dental Appointments
Please try to avoid medical and dental appointments in school time. If this is unavoidable, arrange appointments so that the minimum school time is lost. Unless it is an emergency appointment, parents/carers are expected to let the school know about the appointment in advance. You should also provide evidence of the appointment, such as an appointment letter or card. Your child should still attend school for as much of the school day as possible.
Unexplained Absences
The school will follow up any student absences where the parent/carer has not contacted us to explain why, or where we are unclear about the actual reason for absence.
Following up unexplained absences can take up a lot of school time, so please do ensure you contact the school to avoid us having to do this. If you fail to notify us of the reason for your child’s absence, it will be recorded as unauthorised.
Where the school has cause for concern about the actual reason for a student’s absence, staff may seek additional information or evidence from parents/carers regarding the absence, and/or make a home visit to verify the reason. If the reason cannot be verified and the school has cause to believe the reason given may not be genuine, parents/carers may be asked to provide proof of the reason. If satisfactory proof is not provided, the academy may record the absence as unauthorised.
Unauthorised absences may result in a Penalty Notice or Prosecution.
Important reminder about Term Time Leave
Attending school every day throughout a term helps children and young people maximise their learning in the classroom and enjoy the benefits of their educational experience. It really does make a difference.
We would therefore like to remind parents and carers that the school will not authorise any leave of absence in term time, unless satisfied the reason for the absence is exceptional. The absence should be for the shortest time possible; if an absence is agreed, the Head will decide how many days of absence will be authorised.
We ask parents and carers to request permission for leave of absence in advance, and to only request absence if time off school is absolutely necessary. Any requests should be put in writing and wherever possible at least four weeks’ notice should be provided. The parent or carer who the child normally lives with should make the application. Forms are available from the school office. We may ask to meet with you to discuss your request.
We also ask parents and carers not to make plans without discussing with the school first, so that we can make good decisions together.
Family emergencies also need careful consideration. It may not always be appropriate, or in the best interests of the child, to miss school for emergencies which are being dealt with by adult family members. Wherever possible, please try to make alternative arrangements for your child so they can still attend school.
Please do not take your child out of school without requesting leave or telling the school why your child will be absent. When parents/carers notify us of a term time absence via the term time leave request form, it is for two purposes:
To seek authorisation (only exceptional circumstances will be authorised).
To tell us where your child is if the planned absence goes ahead.
It is really important that we know where children are, as we have a duty to ensure they are safe. If we don’t know why a child is absent, we will follow our safeguarding procedures.
Parents/carers are reminded that unauthorised term time leave may result in a Penalty Notice or Prosecution.
To assist parents/carers in booking holidays and arranging other events, please find detailed below the term dates and inset days for this academic year.
Term 3
First day of term for students: Wednesday 3rd January 2024
Last day of term for students: Friday 9th February 2024
Inset Day: Tuesday 2nd January 2024
Term 4
First day of term for students: Monday 19th February 2024
Last day of term for students: Thursday 28th March 2024
Bank Holiday: Friday 29th March 2024
Term 5
First day of term for students: Tuesday 16th April 2024
Last day of term for students: Friday 24th May 2024
Inset Day: Monday 15th April 2023
Bank Holiday: Monday 6th May 2023
Term 6
First day of term for students: Monday 3rd June 2024
Last day of term for students: Tuesday 23rd July 2024
Inset Day: Friday 5th July 2023
If you have any questions about the information provided, or any other attendance related questions, please contact Year Leaders in the first instance or our Attendance Officer, Mel Schollar.
I look forward to continuing to work with you and your children
With best wishes
Nicola Patmore
Associate Assistant Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
