Attendance

The Hereford Academy is working to improve the attendance of all its students. We have found that if a student's attendance is 95% or above, it has a strong impact on their exam results.

We are therefore working hard to improve attendance and hope the following information will help us to keep up our attendance record at The Hereford Academy:

What to do if your child is ill:

A parent/carer must contact the academy to inform us of your child's absence before 8.30am.

Please contact us, leaving a message as to the nature of the absence each day of the child's illness. A note should be provided with the child on their return to school to be put into their file.

The attendance office can be contacted on: 01432 355213 xts: 118 or 184

Holidays in Term Time:

Holidays should not be taken during term time. If you do need to book time out from school, a holiday form should be obtained from school, completed and returned at least 6 weeks prior to the holiday. Applications will not be authorised if less than 6 weeks prior to the holiday. Students with a poor attendance record, who apply for holidays, will not be authorised. KS4 (Years 10/11) students, must not be taken out of school during their last 2 years of education. Taking students out of school for holidays may affect their exam results.

Students who take unauthorised holidays will be referred to the Education Welfare Officer, who will issue a Penalty Notice Warning and may result in you receiving a Fixed Penalty Fine.

Lates are a Problem

Sometimes being late cannot be avoided. If your child is going to be late for a valid reason, please inform the academy by telephoning or writing a note. Students who are persistently late or arrive late without authorisation, will be issued with a C3 (a 10 minute detention at morning break). If the student fails to attend his/her C3 they will be issued with a C4 (1 hour detention after school). You will be notified of the detention by post. Students who have lunch passes and are late back to school will have their lunch pass revoked for 2 weeks. Arrangements will need to be made for lunch to be taken in school.

We ask you as parent/carer to ensure your child is in school on time. Students who are late disrupt classes and other students learning by arriving to class late.

Persistent Absence from School

A student who has taken 14 sessions (7days) out of school in the first ½ term will be put onto the persistent absence register. This will mean they are monitored daily and if their attendance continues to fall you will receive letters and a home visit to discuss ways to resolve their poor attendance. Your child's education is important and we can work together to improve their attendance and help them to reach their full potential at school. There may be many reasons for a student not wishing to come to school, but keeping communications with the school can stop poor attendance before it becomes a serious problem.

Persistent absence figures:

Attendance Panels

You may be asked to attend our Attendance Panel with your child to discuss their attendance/lates. It is important you attend these if you are asked, this is to discuss ways forward to resolve any issues we have, you have or the student has. You may also be asked to sign an Attendance and Behaviour Contract. This is another way we monitor your child's attendance. You are only asked to attend a Panel if your child's attendance is cause for concern.

Failure to attend will result in your child being referred to the Education Welfare Officer.
Welfare Officer involvement will mean the following.

• A Letter of concern
• Home Visit
• Penalty Notice Warning
• Fixed Penalty Fine (£50 - £2000)
• Meeting under Caution
• Court

Contact us

If you have any other questions please contact the Attendance Team on 01432 355213

Mrs N Price - Attendance Officer xt: 118
Mrs J Miller - Admin Assistant Attendance xt: 184