Ash Grove Academy

Attendance and Absence

Our whole school attendance target is 97%

We are very proud of our school community and that our pupils enjoy being at school. We would like to thank the many families who actively engage with us, ensuring that their children attend school regularly and arrive on time. It is important to acknowledge that many families in our school community do follow the school attendance procedures and I would like to thank you all for your support. 

 

Procedure

If a child is ill, the parent must phone the school office on 01625 919610 before the end of registration (9:00am). If a child becomes ill at school, we will inform the parents as soon as possible. Children with certain contagious illnesses are not allowed to attend school, as advised by Public Health Guidelines. Please phone and check if necessary.

Appointments

Wherever possible, children should not be out of school for any reason other than illness. Routine dental and medical appointments should be made outside the school day.

How attendance will be monitored

Our school attendance team will continue to monitor daily attendance and punctuality via the class registers. Should your child be unwell and unable to attend, please ensure you contact school by 9am latest, giving a clear reason for the absence (more details can be found in the attendance policy on this page). This will ensure we can account for the whereabouts of all children by close of registration. If you are unsure if your child is well enough to attend school, please refer to the NHS guidance ‘Is My Child Too Ill for School’.

In August 2024, the Department for Education released a new statutory guidance document for all schools and colleges Working Together to Improve School Attendance. This document, alongside guidance from our Local Authority attendance officer, informs our day-to-day practice to ensure all children come to school every day.

Unauthorised absences are defined as:

  • Parents keeping children off school unnecessarily or without reason, including tiredness/late night and 'feeling unwell' without a specified reason given. 
  • Absences which have never been properly explained.
  • Arrival at school after the register has closed (children MUST be in school by 9:30am to avoid receiving a mark of UNAUTHORISED in the register).
  • Absence due to shopping, looking after other children, or birthdays.
  • Absence due to day trips and holidays in term-time which have not been agreed.  Holidays are not authorised and are not permitted during term time.
  • Leaving school for no reason during the day.

Persistent absence (PA) is defined as missing 10 percent or more of schooling across the year for any reason.

One full school day counts as 2 sessions (morning and afternoon).  10 sessions of unauthorised absence (see definitions above) may lead to you receiving a fine from the Local Authority. 

We want to work with families to improve school attendance, and will always contact parents to offer ways to support them if their child's attendance drops below expected levels.

If you require a paper copy of any school policies or medical forms, please come to the school office and speak to a member of the admin team who will be happy to help.

Alongside the school absence monitoring, the Cheshire East Council Attendance and Children Out of School (ACOOS) team will be remotely reviewing our school absence data via the Department for Education and identifying pupil absences in excess of 15 days.  Depending on the reason for these absences, the ACOOS team may make contact with the school and/or parents to discuss this further.

Administration of medicines

If your child needs any medication whilst at school, please come to the main school office to complete and sign the medicine form. For further information, please read our Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions policy on our Policies page 

Asthma & Inhalers

If your child is asthmatic, please come to the main school office to complete and sign the asthma form so we can add your child to our register. Please ensure your child has an inhaler for use in school and that this is in date. For further information, please read our Asthma policy in the Trust Policy section of our Policies page.

Requests for term time absence

Any school attendance figure that is below 100% has a negative effect upon the education and development of any child. There is a direct correlation between poor school attendance and the lower achievement and future opportunities of children.

Pupils receive the equivalent of 14 weeks of holiday time during the course of an academic year split between bank holidays, INSET days, half-term and end of term and summer holidays. 

Whilst we appreciate that the cost of family holidays outside of term time is more expensive, in line with Government and Local Authority guidance, we will NOT be authorising any requests for leave of absence for term-time holidays unless there are exceptional circumstances. Requests should be made in writing/email to principal@ashgrove.cheshire.sch.uk.  Each request will be considered individually, and you may be asked to provide additional evidence to support your request if required. If your request is declined, and you still choose to take your child out of school, a Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued. This will be done by the Cheshire East Attendance and Children Out of School team.

Fixed Penalty Notice for term-time absence

Following the introduction of the new National Framework for Penalty Notices in August 2024, there has been a change to the current guidance for the issue of Fixed Penalty Notices. Further information about taking children on holiday in term time can be found by clicking here

Penalty notices may be issued for the following:

  • 5 or more consecutive days of unauthorised absence for term-time leave. 
  • Where term time absences are being requested on multiple occasions for less than the 5-day threshold to avoid a fixed penalty notice.
  • If your child has been reported absent due to illness but we have reason to believe they are, or have been, away on holiday, i.e. if your child tells us they are going or have been away, they arrive back in school with a sun tan, we make a house call during the absence and no one is home.
  • 10 unauthorised sessions in a 10-week period. An unauthorised session is where no reason for absence is provided, your child is late after the close of registration (9am) or where you have taken an absence without prior notice or permission.