Attendance
At Dogsthorpe Academy our aim is to collaborate with parents to ensure that all our pupils receive the most from their education and reach their full potential.
The Government is clear that no child should miss school apart from in exceptional circumstances and schools must take steps to reduce absence to support children’s attainment.
Please click here to read our trust-wide attendance policy.
Reporting absence
If your child is absent from school please let us know. We operate a system of first day calling; that means if we do not hear from you we will endeavour to contact you via telephone or home visit.
Please inform us of any absence by 8.30am on the first day of absence by telephoning the Academy office on 01733 343581.
We monitor the attendance of all pupils on a weekly basis, this includes missed sessions and/or lateness. Should your child's attendance decline you will hear from our Attendance Officer, Jo Bennett in the first instance.
We promote the importance of good attendance to all children. Awards are given on a weekly basis to the class with the best attendance. We award end of term certificates to children who have had 100% attendance.
Persistent absentees
A pupil of compulsory school age who has an absence rate of 10% or more (attendance of 90% or less) will be classed as a persistent absentee.
The important legal information – New from August 19th, 2024
The Government have introduced a single national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England. This threshold is 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence. The period of 10 school weeks can span different terms or school years.
In line with national guidance, the Local Authority (LA) retains the discretion to issue a penalty notice before the threshold is met. This might apply for example, where parents have taken several term time holidays below the national threshold. The LA also retains the discretion to consider going straight to prosecution where appropriate.
A maximum of 2 penalty notices per parent, per child can be issued within a rolling 3-year period. This period will start from the issue of the 1st penalty notice. The national framework also sets out the escalation process which applies to such penalty notices.
Requests for leave of absence during term time
DfE guidance schools that they should only grant a leave of absence during term time in exceptional circumstances, considering each request on a case-by-case basis. If a leave of absence is granted, it is for the executive principal/ Head of Academy to determine the length of time the pupil can be away from school. Although we recognise the value and benefits of family holidays, it is unlikely a leave of absence will be granted for a family holiday as the Government ‘does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance.’
Requests for leave must be made in advance, otherwise we will be unable to consider your individual circumstances and the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. We are not obligated to reconsider authorising leave if an application was not made in advance.
It is very important that our pupils attend school all the time so that they do not miss any vital learning.
Please click here to read our trust-wide attendance policy.