Attendance

Attendance

At Kirkbie Kendal School we set an aspirational attendance target of 97%.

At Kirkbie Kendal School we want to develop students who understand the importance of attending school and who see the correlation between good school attendance and making the most of the opportunities offered, leading to academic achievement. We want students to be able to access support for any issues that may be affecting their attendance but also understand the consequences if they are persistently late to school or if their attendance drops below 90%. We want to work successfully with parents, careers, families and outside agencies to share attendance information, providing support and interventions for students whose attendance becomes a concern. We want students to enjoy school, their lessons and the relationships they form. We want them to feel a part of our school community and want students to understand that poor school attendance affects the opportunities to buy into the ethos and values of our school. 

The majority of students want to attend school to learn, to socialise with their peers, and to prepare themselves fully to take their place in society.

Regular school attendance is crucial to ensure students make progress at school and engage with their education. In order to achieve this, school will take the appropriate actions to ensure that all students achieve the maximum possible attendance and that any barriers to school attendance are identified and are acted on as quickly as possible.

Some students and their parents/carers may need to be supported in meeting their attendance responsibilities.

Punctuality

Students are expected in form and registered by 8:45 am and 1:50 pm for afternoon registration. Students who are late to registration will be issued with and L mark and consequence. These L marks and consequences will be monitored by Heads of Year and the Attendance Team and further interventions or sanctions will be used to improve punctuality to school. Students who arrive late to school and miss morning registration will be issued with a 30 minute same day afterschool detention.

If students miss the close of registration (no more than thirty minutes after the opening of the register); Students arriving after the close of register will be recorded as late with a U code.  This is not authorised and will count as an absence for that school session and statutory action may be taken where appropriate. Students will be issued with a 60 minute same day afterschool detention.  

On arrival after the close of register, Students must report to the school office to sign in ensuring that we can be responsible for their health and safety whilst they are in school.

The absence will only be authorised if a satisfactory explanation for the late arrival can be provided, for example, attendance at a medical appointment.

The absence will be recorded as unauthorised if the student has arrived late without justifiable cause.

Reporting absence

On the rare occasion that students might be ill, please contact school as early as possible by emailing allattendance@kksa.co.uk to advise us of your child’s absence and the reason for it. You will receive an acknowledgement of your email. If you prefer to call, please do so before 8.30 am. The school has an answerphone service enabling you to leave a message by dialling Extension 204. Please leave your name, the student’s full name, their form and a clear reason for their absence.  Please note that if we have not received either an email or a telephone notification of your child’s absence by 9.30 am, you will receive an absence alert email via Edulink.

If the absence is more than two days, please keep our Attendance Administrator updated by email or telephone on an on-going basis. 

Please note parents and carers have a legal responsibility to inform school of the absence of their child.

Appointments

We ask that parents/carers to try their best to keep medical appointments out of school hours whenever possible. Please notify school if appointments have to be made during school hours. Students are required to sign out when leaving school and sign in on their return. School would be grateful if parents/carers would notify school of any planned medical absence using the Absence Request Form.

Term Time Absence Requests

Headteachers will only grant a request for a leave of absence if an application has been made in advance to the school using the Absence Request Form. When such a request is made, any absence can only be authorised if there are exceptional circumstances. All requests that are not exceptional will be recorded as unauthorised.

The national threshold for unauthorised leave of absence is clear and relates to when a student is recorded as absent for 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) within 10 school weeks with one of, or a combination of the following codes:
G, N, O, U. Kirkbie Kendal School follows the national and local guidance provided by Westmorland and Furness Council as well as their code of conduct.

Failing to ensure regular school attendance by taking your child out of school in term time for a holiday is an offence under section 444 (1) or section 444 (1A) of the 1996 Education act. The Local Authority requests any unauthorised absence to be reported to them to be investigated. The Local Authority may then choose to impose a Section 444A Penalty Notice in the order of a fine for the offences given above.  The amount of the penalty notice is £160 (per parent, per child).  There is usually the opportunity to pay a reduced amount of £80 if paid within 21 days. In some cases prosecution and a fine for up to £2500 or up to 3 months imprisonment may be given.  Failure to pay a Penalty Notice will result in prosecution, except in limited circumstances.

We will continue to consider all applications for leave of absence individually.  “Exceptional” circumstances, where an absence may be authorised are considered to include:

• Serious illness of a close family member.
• Funerals.
• Forces personnel on leave from a foreign posting.
• Representation in national or county sports or performing arts events or similar.

Circumstances that are not deemed “exceptional” include:

• Cheaper holidays in England and abroad.
• Visiting relatives.
• Family day trips (to exhibitions, theatre, agricultural shows etc).
• Visiting family/friends who have different holidays.

When making an application for leave of absence during term time parents/carers will need to cite the exceptional circumstances when submitting applications. The school may ask for further information when such requests are made, and will challenge any unexplained absences to ensure the register is correctly maintained.

Any term time absence requests must be made via the Absence Request Form.