Attendance

Our expectations

The school gates open at 8.30am, all students should be on the courtyard by 8.35am ready to start the day promptly at 8.40am. 

It is our aim that every student attends every day and is on time to school and it is our aim that every student should benefit from a 100% attendance figure. 

If a student is taken ill during the school day, they should not contact home themselves. The Assistant Head of Year are available and will liaise with the attendance officers. Attendance officers will contact home to discuss the matter with parents/ carers. Most matters can be managed in school which allows a student to return to their lesson and continue with their learning. Rarely will parents be asked to collect their child from school. 

If your child is too ill to attend school, you should contact the Attendance Office before 8:30am on 01502 525376 or send an email to attendance@eastpointacademy.org or contact through your My Child At School App. 

You will need to leave your child’s full name, Year group and the reason for their absence. 

If you do not contact us and your child is not registered at school a text message will be sent. Please follow the instructions in the text to update your child’s record. We may also phone you to discuss any absence. Our duty of care means that any unexplained absence requires that we need to establish a child is safe. 

It is the law for your child to attend school on time every day (Education Act 1996) 

East Point Academy Attendance Policy

Lateness

Punctuality is monitored both in the morning and to lessons. 

The gates open at 8:30am. Students arriving after 8:40am will be recorded as ‘Late’. Parents/ carers of a child with persistent lateness after the registers have closed could be subject to legal action from Suffolk County Council. 

Exceptional circumstances leave of absence (including in term time holidays) 

Requests for leave of absence will only be authorised for certain specific reasons such as an unmovable ceremony for close family e.g. a wedding, funeral or graduation. Any other request will usually be declined, and the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. Under certain extenuating circumstances e.g. sporting competitions, absence may be granted. 

Medical or dental appointments should, where possible, be scheduled outside of the school day and during end of term holidays. We appreciate the difficulties of arranging some hospital appointments and will usually sanction these. 

Holidays are not authorised unless there are rare and very exceptional circumstances. A term time holiday will typically lead to Suffolk County Council issuing a fixed penalty notice (FPN). Nonpayment of this could lead to court action. 

Any second term time holiday in an academic year will automatically lead to Suffolk County Council making further legal proceedings, possibly through the court system. 

Medical evidence 

If your child’s absence is linked to an underlying medical condition, you will be contacted to provide some evidence of a consultation or prescribed medication. You may be contacted to discuss any medical conditions so that your child can be supported in school. 

Support with attendance 

Each year group has a Head of Year and an Assistant Head of Year who work with families to help students maintain a strong attendance record. 

If attendance problems are identified, the Assistant Head of Year will contact you in the first instance to encourage improvements.  

Interventions include formal and informal meetings to discuss the obstacles blocking a child’s attendance. We are supported by Suffolk County Council’s Attendance Team through the Education Welfare Officer. 

If you have a problem with your child’s attendance, raise the issue as soon as possible with your child’s Assistant Head of Year or with the attendance team. Problems can usually be quickly resolved. 

Tracking your child’s attendance 

Using the App My Child At School parents and carers can keep track of their child’s attendance. This is ‘live’ data and is taken directly from the Academy’s register system. 

Interesting articles from the Department for Education: 

Education Act 1996 

The link between absence and attainment 

Just one day off can hamper a children's life chances