Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance is taken very seriously at The Hundred of Hoo Academy and we always endeavour to help our pupils and families achieve 100% attendance.

Research shows that good school attendance impacts upon children’s success in learning. Good attendance helps children to achieve good results, helps them to fulfil their potential and gives them a chance of a better future. We are committed to this and therefore work hard to ensure that all of our children have the best possible attendance. We want to see all our pupils with above 96% attendance.

Every day that your child is absent from school is an opportunity missed. Schools and parents / carers have a shared responsibility to ensure that children attend school regularly and on time.

Below we have attached some important documents and information about attendance.

Punctuality is also just as important as attendance. The Hundred of Hoo Primary Academy day starts at 8:45am with all pupils expected to be in school by this time (gates open at 8:30am). It is important that children arrive in school on time as it supports them to learn good timekeeping and also reduces classroom disruption for the other children and themselves.

Parental support is critical in ensuring that children achieve in education. At Hoo, we work closely with families to support them to achieve the best possible outcomes for their children. Below are steps you can take to ensure your child attends school every day and on time.

  • If your child is not well enough to attend, contact the school by 8:45am on the first day of absence.
  • Try to make dental and medical appointments outside of school time or at the weekend.
  • Take family holidays during the school holiday. We are unable to authorize term time holidays.
  • Contact us immediately if you need help or support with your child’s attendance or punctuality.

It is surprising how days off can quickly add up and become a significant barrier to your child’s success. When children have 10% or more off per year this is classed as persistent absenteeism and therefore a serious issue that requires action. Although this doesn’t seem much, when you break it down it can easily happen. To give this some context, we have broken down what this means each term.  Please note – 10% is 3-4 days off per term.

Total number of days

33

10% in days

3

10% in school weeks (5 days a week)

Half a week

10% in hours (5 hours a day)

15

Total number of days

71

10% in days

7

10% in school weeks (5 days a week)

1 week and a half

10% in hours (5 hours a day)

35

Total number of days

100

10% in days

10

10% in school weeks (5 days a week)

2 weeks

10% in hours (5 hours a day)

50

Total number of days

130

10% in days

13

10% in school weeks (5 days a week)

2 and a half weeks

10% in hours (5 hours a day)

65

Total number of days

153

10% in days

15

10% in school weeks (5 days a week)

3 weeks

10% in hours (5 hours a day)

75

Total number of days

188

10% in days

18

10% in school weeks (5 days a week)

3 and a half weeks

10% in hours (5 hours a day)

90

Excellent attendance at school is important to allow a child or young person to fulfil their potential.

We think it is very important that all our pupils benefit from 190 days of learning to ensure they make progress and achieve the results they should. If a school can improve its attendance by 1%, this can result in a 5 – 6% improvement in attainment. We are asking you to support the Academy by ensuring your child achieves excellent attendance.

Here are some of the ways in which you can help our Academy achieve excellent attendance:

  • The Academy is closed for 14 weeks a year when you can take holidays and travel abroad. Where there are exceptional circumstances for a pupil to be absent during term time, you can make a written request to the Headteacher via your child’s College parent email address
  • We expect pupils to arrive at the Academy on time. Late arrivals disrupt the education of others. Pupils arriving after the register has closed will be marked in the register as having an unauthorised absence. The Academy attendance policy states the time that the attendance register closes in the morning: 20 minutes after registration.
  • We do not expect pupils to come to school when they are sick, but those with regular sickness absence will be expected to provide us with medical evidence before  further absences are authorised.
  • Avoid medical and dental appointments during the Academy day.
  • If you or your children are having difficulties that impact on attendance, please make an appointment with a member of staff to discuss additional support.