Parents and carers can see "live" attendance updates by accessing the ClassCharts App.

How do I notify the academy about my child's absence?

To avoid your child being given an unauthorised absence register mark, it is vitally important that you contact the Academy on the first day of their absence, before 8.30am, and then on each subsequent day that your child is absent from the academy. You can notify the academy of your child's absence via email at absence@thekingscofeacademy.org. In reporting your child's absence you must state the reason for the absence.  Where we do not receive notification of an absence, we are legally obliged to follow this up making contact with parents/ carers.

Why attendance is so important?

School attendance brings so many benefits: access to education with specialist teachers, development of social skills, time with friends, enjoyment, shared experiences with peers and so much more.  There is much research to show that children who attend school regularly achieve better grades in public examinations, but this isn't the only reason for attending school.  

Since the pandemic, we understand - as does the Government - that many parents/carers and young people are more cautious about illness.  This year, the Chief Medical Officer (Professor Chris Whitty - you may remember him from the Downing Street daily briefings back in 2020 and 2021) has written to schools to remind us that children's emotional wellbeing is generally better if they are in school and that, for the vast majority, children's mental health is more positive if they are regularly attending school.  Where your child is unwell, take a look here: NHS: Is my child too ill for school? to see if the illness your child is experiencing means that they should be kept at home.  Most childhood illnesses do not require isolation - children will be fine at school. 

Students' achievement is directly related to their attendance; if a student is not accessing their education, they are not able to access learning and the resources presented in class by teachers. In March 2016 the Department for Education (DfE) published a report on the link between absence and attainment in Key Stages 2 and 4. The findings for both Key Stages show that in general, the higher the absence rate, the less successful they are in GCSE examinations. The report states that at Key Stage 4:
 

‘… pupils with no absence are 2.2 times more likely to achieve 5+ GCSEs A*-C or equivalent and 2.8 times more likely to achieve 5+ GCSEs A*-C or equivalent including English and mathematics, than pupils missing 15-20% of Key Stage 4 lessons.’
 

All absences are recorded as either 'authorised' or 'unauthorised':

• Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason: illness and other "unavoidable causes"

• Unauthorised absences are those, which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no "leave" has been given. This includes family holidays in term time and repeated absences without good reason.

When 90% is not enough!

Though in many situations 90% sounds like a good score, in attendance terms it is not.

An attendance of 90% across a school year is the equivalent of approximately 20 days of missed learning (a month off school!). If 90% attendance is maintained over a student’s secondary education, this would mean 100 missed days of learning, or over half a year of education.  Unbelievable, isn't it!

The chart below shows how a 90% attendance record across year 10 and 11 could impact a student's GCSE results. 90% attendance equates 8 weeks lost (in total) across years 10 and 11 reducing a student's chances of securing 5 or more GCSEs (at grades 9-4) from 78.7% to 30.9%

Students with attendance 90% or less are almost one and a half GCSE grades (-1.48) behind where they might typically be expected to be in each of their best 8 GCSEs. The impact can be seen broken down to different curriculum areas such as maths (almost 2 GCSE grades behind).