Attendance

All children of school age have the right to a full-time education, regardless of age, aptitude, ability or any special need they may have. Regular academy attendance is essential if a child is to make the most of the educational opportunity available to them. Ark Castledown Primary Academy takes the responsibility to monitor and promote the regular attendance of all its pupils very seriously. It acknowledges that irregular attendance can disrupt continuity of learning, undermines educational progress, can lead to underachievement/low attainment and impedes the child’s ability to develop friendship groups within the academy.

If your child is unable to attend school, please inform the Academy as soon as possible. A family adult should call on the first day of absence and each day thereafter to report the reason

Absences can be reported directly to a member of the office team or by leaving a message on the absence line. Alternatively, you can email us at  attendance@arkcastledown.org. Be sure to include your child’s name, class, and specific details about the illness. For guidance, refer to the NHS resource Is My Child Too Ill for School

All phone calls should be made before 8:30 a.m. each day of absence. If we have not received a message by 9:30 a.m., we will contact you directly.

If your child is expected to be absent for an extended period due to illness, please get in touch with us to discuss any support they may need to stay up to date with what is taking place in school. For prolonged absences, medical evidence will be required.

The Department for Education has amended the regulations and guidance in relation to absences in term-time. There is no automatic right to take your child out of school during term time.  The Department for Education will only allow a head teacher to grant a leave of absence if there are exceptional circumstances. In determining whether or not an absence in such circumstances can be authorised, it is for the head teacher to determine the number of days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted.

If you consider that your request falls into this category you will need to complete the Withdrawal from Learning Application Form.  A response will be sent to you as soon as possible.  If the absence requested is not considered to be an exceptional circumstance, and you nevertheless take your child out of school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised in line with Local Authority guidance.

In the case of an unauthorised absence, a Penalty Notice can be requested from the Local Authority.  Please note that Penalty Notices are issued to each parent for each child taken out of school.  A Penalty Notice is a fine of £80 which increases to £160 if not paid within the first 21 days.  If the Penalty Notice remains unpaid this will result in further legal intervention. A limit of no more than 2 penalty notices will be issued to the same parent for the same child in a 3 year rolling period. 

Where deemed appropriate to issue a second penalty notice to the same parent for the same pupil within 3 years of the first notice, the second is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days. A third notice will not be issued within a 3 year period. In cases where the threshold is met for a third (or subsequent) time within 3 years, a penalty notice cannot be issued and alternative action will be taken.

If a penalty notice is issued and is not paid, this will result in legal action. 

All absence requests must be completed on the Withdrawal from Learning Application Form, letters will not be accepted.  This should be returned to the school a minimum of 14 days before the start of the absence.

Any absence from school will disrupt your child’s learning.  You may consider some absences to be educational but your child will still miss out on the teaching that their classmates will receive.  Children returning from an absence are unprepared for the lessons which build on the teaching they have missed.  Teachers then need to give more time to help individual children catch up on missed work.  This poses a potential risk of the under achievement of other students in the class. This is something we all have a responsibility to avoid.