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Reporting an Absence
Our Vision
To strive to meet 100% targets for attendance and punctuality.
Why are attendance and punctuality so important?
Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. Harrogate High School seeks to ensure that all its students receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each student to realise their true potential both socially and academically.
Over a period of five school years, a student with 90% attendance will have missed half of a whole year of schooling. Similarly, students with poor punctuality miss valuable lesson time and, if it happens regularly, progress will be jeopardised.
Definitions of attendance
The table below sets out our definitions of attendance. We expect outstanding attendance for all, however we do recognise that there are times when students we will absent from school. If attendance drops below 97% the school will contact parents immediately to put a plan in place to make improvements. As a school we work relentlessly to support students and families.
| Outstanding | 98-100% |
|---|---|
| Good (no more than 5 days off per year | 97-97.9% |
| Cause for concern | 95-96.9% |
| Cause for serious concern | <94.9% |
| Persistent Absentee - possible legal action | <90% |
Successfully treating the root causes of absence and removing barriers to attendance, at home, in school or more broadly requires schools and local partners to work collaboratively with, not against families. All partners should work together to:
| Expect |
|---|
| Aspire to high standards of attendance from all pupils and parents and build a culture where all can, and want to, be in school and ready to learn by prioritising attendance improvement across the school. |
| Monitor |
|---|
| Rigorously use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance (at individual and cohort level) as soon as possible so all parties can work together to resolve them before they become entrenched. |
| Listen & Understand |
|---|
| When a pattern is spotted, discuss with pupils and parents to listen to understand barriers to attendance and agree how all partners can work together to resolve them. |
| Facilitate & Support |
|---|
| Remove barriers in school and help pupils and parents to access the support they need to overcome barriers outside of school. This might include an early help or whole family plan where absence is a symptom of wider issues |
| Formalise Support |
|---|
| Where absence persists and voluntary support is not working or not being engaged with, partners should work together to explain the consequences clearly and ensure support is also in place to enable families to respond. Depending on the circumstances this may include formalising support through a parenting contract or education supervision order |
| Enforce |
|---|
| Where all other avenues have been exhausted and support is not working or not being engaged with, enforce attendance through statutory intervention or prosecution to protect the pupil's right to an education. |
All staff regularly communicate the following mantras to ensure the profile of attendance and punctuality is high across the school.
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Furthermore, all staff communicate the importance of excellent attendance and punctuality, making reference to the visual below which can be seen in all learning environments across the school.
| As a parent or carer you can help by: | As a student, you can improve your attendance by: |
|---|---|
| Ensuring your child understands the importance of excellent attendance and punctuality | Speaking to a trusted adult about the reasons why you might not want to come to school |
| Taking an interest in their education – asking about school work and encourage them to get involved in school activities | Trying hard every morning to get up and get to school, unless you are really unwell |
| Discussing any problems they may have at school and inform their Student Support Officer to pass on concerns quickly | Getting an early night, feeling tired on a morning can make getting to school harder |
| Not allowing them take time off school for minor ailments – particularly those which would not prevent you from going to work | Make sure you get to school on time every day |
| Arranging appointments after school hours, at weekends or during school holidays will help to prevent disruption to your child’s education and to the school | |
| Being open and willing to work with us to improve your child’s attendance |
If you feel that your child isn’t well enough to come to school, you need to phone and leave a message on the Student Absence Line (01423 554087) or email us on the following: attendance-department@hhs.nsat.org.uk before 8.30am.
Please include your child’s name, year group and the reason for their absence. You will need to do this on each morning that your child will not be in school.
Medical appointments should be made for after school wherever possible.  We may ask to see evidence of medical appointments, if your child’s attendance is poor.
As an academy we must follow national legal guidelines which means that holiday requests during term-time cannot be authorised.
Because of this, absences or persistent lateness which are not agreed with us, can incur a penalty notice. These penalties are through the local council and we have no control over how they are given.
We cannot guarantee that we will authorise a student’s leave of absence during term time, as this is only done in exceptional circumstances. If you don’t get permission from our Head of Academy, the absence is classed as ‘unauthorised’ and this includes lateness. If you want to see if an absence can be authorised, you must contact school in advance and get permission from the Academy Headteacher.
We keep parents up to date with their child’s attendance and confirm absences with them; this makes sure students are supported in their progress at the Academy.
Our Attendance Team work really hard to support students and often identify patterns of non-attendance. They will always work with parents and carers to understand these patterns and see how they can be improved.
If you are concerned about your child’s school attendance, it is always best to talk to us first. We have a dedicated Attendance team who are here to help students and families.
Students with attendance of less than 95% are monitored closely by the Pastoral Team (Attendance and Student Support Officers). We also have the specialist support of a Parent Support worker who will be able to offer intensive support guidance to students and families to help to improve attendance.