Attendance & Punctuality

Students who arrive late may miss Form Time, Assembly, and the beginning of their first lesson. This means that they miss important information and often disrupt the teaching and learning of others. Parents and carers should support the Academy by ensuring that their child leaves home early enough each morning to get to school on time and by encouraging them to be punctual.  

Students are late if they arrive after 8:30am. We advise your child to be on the school site at least five minutes before the bell. 

Research has shown that regular attendance and punctuality are crucial factors in students achieving their full educational potential. At Irlam and Cadishead Academy, we wish to work in partnership with parents and carers and so are seeking your full support in ensuring that your child attends Academy every day and on time. We are always pleased to work together with parents/carers in resolving any difficulties, but we are also committed to improving attendance levels at the Academy. 

Why Do Our Students Believe It Is Important to Attend School? 

• To achieve their academic and extra-curricular goals 
• To learn new skills 
• To develop social skills 
• To make friends  
• To prepare for the future 
• To get a successful job 

Good Attendance Matters 

The target attendance figure for all pupils is a minimum of 97% attendance. Based on current attendance figures your child will be placed in one of the following groups below. 

Group 1 - No Concern 

The child attends for 97% - 100% of the time. 

Group 2 - Concern 

The child attends for 95% - 96.9% of the time 

Group 3 - Risk of Underachievement 

The child attends for 90% - 94.9% of the time. 

Group 4 – Extreme Risk of Underachievement 

The child attends less than 90% of the time. 

Your child will be informed of their Attendance Group by their form tutor.  Irlam and Cadishead Academy are monitoring students closely whose attendance is falling and will contact you if your child’s attendance does not improve. 

As a parent/carer you are committing an offence if you fail to ensure that your child attends Academy regularly and punctually, even if they are missing school without your knowledge. Parents/carers must monitor single-day absences, as these days soon add up to weeks. 

If you are concerned about your child’s attendance, there are important steps that you can take: 

• Ensure your child attends every day, on time, equipped, and ready to learn. Lesson time begins at 8:30 am and all pupils need to be onsite by 8:25 am. Students arriving after 9 am may be marked absent and will require an explanatory note or the absence will remain un-authorised. 
• Ensure the Academy has up-to-date addresses and telephone numbers. We will contact you if your child is absent and you have not contacted the Academy. This ensures that the absence is quickly identified. 
• If your child is ill, contact the Academy on the first day of absence and provide an explanatory note on their return to the Academy. 
• If you wish to check that your child has arrived at the Academy contact the Academy’s Attendance Officers, Miss M Joy or Miss S Peters. They will inform you if your child has been registered. 
• If no contact is received regarding the absence, it is recorded as un-authorised. We authorise absences above 95% attendance, attendance below 95% will be reviewed. Only genuine absence will be authorised. You will be asked to provide evidence if your child has a poor attendance record, if you have any questions please contact Martine Joy - martine.joy@irlamandcadishead.org.uk. 
• Ensure that medical appointments are made outside of Academy time. 
• Avoid trivial absences such as, ‘buying new shoes’. This would not be accepted as a reasonable absence. 
• Holidays should not be taken in Academy time. Any Leave of Absence can only be agreed by the Principal and only agreed where there are exceptional circumstances. 
• Respond to letters or telephone calls regarding attendance and punctuality. 
• Contact your child’s form tutor if you are experiencing difficulty in getting your child into the Academy. 

Thank you for working in partnership with us to achieve the highest possible levels of attendance and punctuality at Irlam and Cadishead Academy.