Menu Search Attendance Good attendance is crucially important for all students in order for them to fully maximise their potential and thrive. Hull Trinity House Academy is committed to ensuring that all its students attend regularly. Where we have concerns about patterns of absence that are negatively impacting on a student’s progress, these will be explored thoroughly by both our Attendance Officer and the Education Welfare Officer from Hull City Council. The law says Parents/carers have a duty to make sure that children of compulsory school age receive an appropriate education. A child reaches compulsory school age the term following their fifth birthday and are legally able to leave school on the last Friday in June of the school year when the child becomes 16-years-old. Remember – if your child is not in school: they may be absent without your knowledge they may be at risk and exposing themselves to danger they are missing out on their education which will adversely affect their progress, attainment and their future prospects you may be issued with a Penalty Notice for unauthorised absence – including term time holidays – or continual, unacceptably low attendance (the penalty is £60 if paid within 21 days or £120 thereafter), you may, in certain cases, be prosecuted by the local authority in the Magistrates’ Court Holidays in Term Time The Government implemented new legislation effective from 1st September 2013 which means that no requests for holidays can be authorised except in exceptional circumstances. When a parent/carer wishes to apply to take their child out of school during term time, they must write or email the Academy (info@hthacademy.org.uk ) to request a leave of absence, giving details of the dates and the reason for the request. All requests will be dealt with by the Principal and should be submitted at least 4 weeks before the proposed start of the holiday and before booking the holiday. If you take your child on holiday during term time, without the authorisation of the Principal, the Principal may make a request to the Local Authority to issue a Penalty Notice. If a Penalty Notice is issued, the penalty is £60 per child, per parent/carer when the payment is made within 21 days. After 28 days, it will increase to £120. Failure to pay within 28 days may result in a summons to appear before the Magistrates Court on the grounds that the parent/carer has failed to pay the Penalty Notice. If the case progresses to court, you may receive a fine of up to £2500. Persistently Absent Pupils (attendance falling on or below 90%) If persistent absenteeism is having a significant and detrimental impact on pupil progress and if parents or carers do not effectively engage with the Academy and support its attempts to improve low attendance, for instance through Attendance Review Meetings with the Academy’s Attendance Officer and participating in Attendance Action Plans, then the Principal can issue a Penalty Notice for unauthorised absence. If it is proved that you knew of your child’s non-attendance and failed without reasonable justification to ensure regular attendance, a fine of up to £2,500 may be imposed by the court. The court also has the power to direct a Parenting Order requiring you to attend at counselling and guidance sessions. It can also specify other appropriate action by you as directed by the named Local Officer on behalf of the Academy. Ongoing serious medical conditions that adversely affect attendance, through no fault of the pupil, will of course be taken into consideration and authorised where appropriate. You can help your child by: working together with Hull Trinity House Academy to improve your child’s attendance promptly letting the school know on the first day of any absence not taking your child out of school for holidays in term time/visits/shopping trips taking a positive interest in your child’s work ensuring your child is ready for the school day and properly equipped being proactive and checking your child’s attendance with the school if it is a concern making sure your child is not illegally employed or being exploited and has been issued with a permit if working outside of school hours. Attending school regularly Students with good attendance: achieve better and maximise their potential become more resilient and better prepared for life after school feel happier and gain confidence often find it easier to develop positive relationships and make and keep friends go on to have better prospects of employment and training are less likely to be involved in risk taking behaviour, be at risk of harm or be involved in anti-social behaviour or criminal offending Student Absence The welfare of children is paramount and remains an absolute priority for us as an Academy. With this in mind, we need to ensure that we receive communication about any child who is unexpectedly absent. Parents/carers should ring the academy (01482 326421 and email attendance@hthacademy.org.uk) before 8:45am each day their child is absent, giving the reason for the absence. Please note we will make contact every day of a student’s absence even when we have been informed that the student is unwell the previous day. This is to ensure that a situation doesn’t occur where a student returning to the Academy fails to arrive, with the parents assuming he is safe at the academy and us assuming he is at home unwell. If we do not receive notification of absence, we will be following the procedure outlined below: Phoning contact numbers as provided by you to try and gain verbal confirmation that your child is absent with your knowledge (please ensure that you provide us with three up-to-date contact numbers for your child). One of the numbers should be a mobile telephone number. If we are not able to contact you by phone or establish why your child is not in school, then a member of staff may carry out a home visit on the morning of absence (please ensure that we have all possible addresses that your child may be at if absent/sick). In the unlikely event that we cannot gain confirmation that your child is absent with your knowledge, then we are now required to contact the police for them to make enquiries as to the safety and well-being of your child. With enhanced and more efficient communication between home and school, we can all be sure that the children in our care are safe and well. We can help – being proactive and working in partnership If you are concerned about your child’s school attendance, it is always best to talk to us first before noticeable patterns emerge and their progress becomes negatively affected. The academy has a dedicated Attendance Officer, Mrs Angela Irving (attendance@hthacademy.org.uk) as well as our Designated Safeguarding Officer, Mrs Lisa Foster who are part of our student services team and work with families supportively and proactively. If you would like further help and advice on how to improve your child’s attendance, you may contact the Education Welfare Officer Miss Katherine Semple who works with the Academy on behalf of Hull City Council on 01482 613552. Did you know: Hull Trinity House Academy expects 100% attendance. 90% attendance means missing on average one ½ day EVERY week. 90% attendance means the equivalent of missing 4 whole weeks in one school year. Over 5 years, this is the equivalent of missing HALF a school year. Missing just 17 days in one year can mean dropping a full grade at GCSE. Only 10% of persistent truants achieve 5 A* – C passes at GCSE. Historically, 5 or more good GCSE passes can increase wages by 42%. 75% of pupils with 95% attendance or more achieve 5 A* – C grades at GCSE. Conversely, of pupils with less than 90% attendance only 25% achieve 5 A*-C grades at GCSE. Schools are open 195 days a year that leaves 170 other dates for leisure time. A child on holiday for 2 weeks during term time will miss 50 one hour lessons. Some never catch up. Being late 10 minutes each day for one year is equal to missing approximately 6 school days 1st September 2021 Was this article helpful? Yes No Hull Trinity House Academy, Charlotte Street Mews, Hull, HU1 3BP Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeltaHTHA Tel: 01482 326421 Email: info@hthacademy.org.uk Delta Academies Trust Privacy policy Terms and conditions Cookie policy Staff Delta Email GCSEPod Parents Evening System ClassCharts Teams Company Number: 07386086 (England and Wales) | VAT Number: 115 8112 43 | © Hull Trinity Academy