It is vital we work to teach our students the value of attending the Academy at 8.40am each day. We do understand that on some occasions children may be ill and unable to attend the Academy.
Please make sure you notify us by logging the reason on the Arbor parent portal: Using the Arbor Parent Portal (northampton-academy.org) call us on 01604 210017 to report the absence and follow this up with a note or letter explaining the reason for absence.
Attendance
Here at Northampton Academy we have the highest expectations across all areas of school life this includes attendance. We work with our pupils to ensure that they have the highest possible attendance at school. We believe that this is the best way for them to succeed and to get the most out of all we have to offer.
There is a clear link between academic outcomes and school attendance. We want all pupils to achieve excellent outcomes to give themselves the very best chance in life.
There are 175 non-school days per year for holidays, shopping and appointments. There is no need, except in extreme circumstances to miss a day’s education. If you miss one session in a week (remember, there are two sessions per day) your attendance is 90%.
Absence Procedure
If your child is unable to attend school please notify us by logging the reason on the Arbor parent portal: Using the Arbor Parent Portal (northampton-academy.org) Here you can record the reason your child is not attending, and it will be directly saved to your child’s registers ensuring all relevant members of staff are alerted to the absence.
If for any reason the app cannot be used then please call 01604 210017 before 8:25am on the first and subsequent absent days. If you need to leave a message, we ask that you leave your name. Also leave your child’s name, their form, and the reason for their absence.
Having communicated an absence with us do expect to receive a call back from the school to discuss your child’s absence and to see if we can support in any way.
Should you require a leave of absence from school during term time, please complete this Leave of Absence Form >>> at least two weeks prior to the requested date(s).
Late Procedure & Punctuality
The school day starts at 08.40 and we expect your child to be in school at that time. Registers close at 09.15 and arrival after that time will mean the child is late. Lateness means they miss out on important routines which help get their day off to a positive start. Late arriving pupils also disrupt lessons during the day for others.
Lateness to Lessons
Once in school it is vital to arrive at lessons on time and ready to learn. The school day is carefully designed to allow for movement around the building in between lessons and therefore students can all be on time to their lessons. Being on time is a great life skill to develop and a characteristic future employees will look admirably upon.
The Importance of Good Attendance
We reward those students whose attendance is good or better. The range of rewards we use includes certificates, tickets for rewards, additional golden tickets and tutor group celebrations and reward.
Regular attendance of students is closely related to their levels of achievement. This makes the issue of regular attendance of great importance. Under education legislation, parents have a duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly and punctually. Failure to do so, without reasonable excuse, can result in referrals to the Local Authority with the prospect of fines or prosecution for those parents, should a child’s attendance not improve rapidly.
What is Good Attendance?
It is useful for you to know what attendance figures mean for your child. We encourage all parents and carers to use the Arbor app in order to monitor their child's attendance.
Our minimum expected target for all students is 97%.
All students whose attendance is below 90% are classified as Persistent Absentees and, depending upon personal circumstances, face possible referral to the Education Entitlement Service.
Our attendance team supports parents, students, teaching staff and other professionals to secure the highest possible attendance for all students.
Our full attendance policy can be viewed using the link below:
Attendance Policy >>>