Attendance and Absence
Excellent attendance to school is of vital importance for a number of reasons. It is proven that those students with excellent attendance are more likely to achieve not only more qualifications but also to achieve these at a higher grade, be less likely to be involved with anti-social behaviour and are generally more settled within school.
We are able to provide support or advice to any parent/carer with regard to attendance. Feel free to contact the attendance team through The St Leonards Academy reception (01424 448740).
Any withdrawal from learning requests need to be made in writing at least 2 weeks before the planned absence. Parents/carers may be required to provide the academy with additional evidence in order to support a leave of absence request. The academy cannot grant a leave of absence retrospectively. If the parent/carer did not apply in advance, leave of absence cannot be granted. Any planned absence should be for the shortest time possible. If an absence is agreed, the principal will decide how many days of absence will be authorised. If the pupil is absent for more days than were authorised by the academy, the remaining days will be recorded as unauthorised absence. Parents/carers should note that an unauthorised absence may result in a penalty notice or prosecution.
Late arrival
Registers open at 08:40 when tutor time stats. Arrival after this time will result in a late mark. (L code: late arrival before registers close).
Registers close at 09:10 when tutor time ends. Arrival after this time will result in an unauthorised absence mark. (U code: arrived in school after the registration closed).
If a student arrives after 09:10 they will be marked in the register as late. The student will also be required to attend a break time detention on that day. Should they miss this detention, they will be expected to complete the sanction after school instead and the parents/carers will be notified. Should a student’s lateness persist, sanctions will be escalated in line with our behaviour policy.
Unplanned absence
The students' parent/carer must notify the school of the reason for the absence on each day of an unplanned absence by 08:00 or as soon as practically possible by calling the academy attendance team. This is on the St Leonards Academy contact number 01424 448740 and press 1 to report a student absence. You will be directed to a year group option. We need your name, child’s name and reason for absence.
We will mark absence due to illness as authorised unless the academy has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness. If the authenticity of the illness is in doubt, the academy may ask the students' parent/carer to provide medical evidence, such as a doctor’s note, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate form of evidence. We will not ask for medical evidence unnecessarily. If the academy is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and parents/carers will be notified.
Planned Absence
Attending a medical or dental appointment will be counted as authorised if the students' parent/carer notifies the academy in advance of the appointment.
If a student is present at registration but has a medical appointment during the session in question, no absence needs be recorded for that session. We encourage parents/carers to make medical and dental appointments out of academy hours where possible. Where this is not possible, the student should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary.
To view our attendance policy, please view our policies page