Attendance
At Little London Academy we know that attendance is central to raising standards in education and ensuring all pupils can fulfil their potential. Regular attendance at school promotes pupils’ well-being and gives them the best chance of learning and reaching their potential. Pupils should attend school every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.
Good attendance is important because pupils:
- get on better with learning and other children;
- cope better with school routines, work and friendships;
- find learning easier because they do not miss out;
- are more successful moving between primary school, secondary school, higher education and employment or training;
- are known to be safe and well by us.
Research shows a direct link between high attendance and doing well at school. All children have the right to an education. We encourage and expect 100% attendance for all pupils.
As a school we have rewards and incentives to celebrate and promote children’s attendance with individual, class and whole school rewards. We do consider the circumstances of individuals and take them into account when rewarding children’s attendance, for example, absences that are as a result of medical issues, to ensure that all children are rewarded fairly.
Our school gates are open at 8:40am and close at 8:50am to support you getting your child to school on time. If your child arrives after this time, they are late. If you require any support with getting your children to school on time or their attendance, please contact Mrs Hutchinson, our Attendance Officer, who will be happy to help.
If we have concerns over your child’s attendance, we will take steps to support you to ensure their attendance rapidly improves. This support could be telephone calls to parents, letters sent to parents, meetings held at school with our attendance officer and members of the Senior Leadership Team. If attendance continues to be of a concern, there is a potential for a referral to the FastTrack Initiative. This ultimately could result in prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court and the receipt of a Parenting Order or a fine of up to £2,500 for each parent or carer. Please see our attendance policy for further details.
Contact numbers
Please contact school before 08:45am on the first day of absence and each subsequent day your child is absent on 0113 244 2457.
Punctuality
Being late for school makes it hard for your child to learn. Even if they are 'only' 5 minutes late each day it means they miss the equivalent of 2 full days of school and learning, in an academic year. Please ensure that your child is always punctual.
School starts at 8:45am. Please aim to arrive at school 5 minutes before this time to reduce any anxiety of being late. The gates open at 8.40am and we also offer Breakfast Club if that will help with arriving at school on time, every day. Your child will be marked late if they do not arrive at school on time.
If we have concerns over your child’s attendance, we will take steps to support you to ensure their attendance rapidly improves. This support could be telephone calls to parents, letters sent to parents, meetings held at school with our attendance officer and members of the Senior Leadership Team. If attendance continues to be of a concern, there is a potential for a referral to the FastTrack Initiative. This ultimately could result in prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court and the receipt of a Parenting Order or a fine of up to £2,500 for each parent or carer. Please see our attendance policy for further details.
Rewards and Incentives
| ATTENDANCE REWARDS 2024-25 | ||
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| Foundation | Key Stage 1 | Key Stage 2 |
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| Half Termly | ||
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| Termly | ||
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| Yearly | ||
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| Special Days/Weeks At different weeks across the year we run special 100% attendance days/weeks. These are notified on the newsletter and Class Dojo! |
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Please could we ask for your full support in ensuring your child / children maintain excellent attendance and punctuality. Thank you for your support with this.
What does the law say about attendance?
Parents have a legal duty to ensure that their children are properly educated. When your child is registered at a school, parents, carers or guardians must ensure the regular and full-time attendance of their child. The Local Authority has the power to issue Fixed-Penalty Notices in respect of unauthorised absences. Penalty notices can be issued to each parent and for each child. The Penalty is £120 payable within 28 days, reducing to £60 if paid within 21 days. (Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2004). If holiday absence is repeated, matters can increase and fines can be increased to both parents.
