HSAT Attendance Information
If your child is unable to attend school, please telephone the relevant Academy reception by 9.00am, leaving a clear reason as to why your child is absent if an answer phone message is being left.
Good school attendance gives your child the opportunity of success and helps develop skills for life.
Your child should attend school every day unless there is an unavoidable cause such as illness. Missing school affects a student’s learning and grades (research shows that missing school often leads to a drop in grades), disrupts routines and can make children vulnerable to crime. Missing school can seriously impair learning and affect life opportunities.
Impact of days missed per year
(Based on 1 Hour lessons)
|
Attendance during the year |
Days missed |
Weeks Missed |
Lessons missed |
|
95% |
9 Days |
2 weeks |
45 Lessons |
|
90% |
19 Days |
4 weeks |
95 Lessons |
|
85% |
29 Days |
6 weeks |
145 Lessons |
|
80% |
39 Days |
8 weeks |
200 Lessons |
HSAT provides education for students who often have wide range of significant social and health needs. We understand that there are some legitimate reasons for student absence and we ask that you inform us when this is the case by contacting the relevant Academy as soon as the absence is known about.
Absences that may be authorised include:
- Illness
- Medical procedures, operations and associated recuperation time
- Close family bereavement
Working Together to Improve Attendance 2024
Working Together to Improve School Attendance advises all schools that they should only grant a leave of absence during term time in exceptional circumstances, considering each request on a case-by-case basis. If you are requesting student leave, please contact the Academy and request a leave of absence form. If a leave of absence is granted, it is for the Principal to determine the length of time the pupil can be away from school. Each Local authority have their own process and guidance for managing school attendance and these can be accessed from the websites below. These links will also highlight the new national framework for managing school attendance, which will come into effect from August 19th 2024, along with the legal and statutory frameworks and the increase in the amount of absence fines should they be used.
School attendance - Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
School attendance | Middlesbrough Council
School attendance and welfare service | Redcar and Cleveland (redcar-cleveland.gov.uk)
School Attendance | CYPSinfo (northyorks.gov.uk)
Support
If your child has an illness or a medical issue that will result in a period of school absence, please discuss this with the relevant staff member at school. The school will then be able to support and advise as to what actions can be taken, if any, to minimise the disruption this causes.
It is the responsibility of every parent and carer to ensure that their student:
- Arrives at school on time, in uniform and in a condition to learn.
- Are absent only for reasons that can be authorised
If your child is struggling to attend school, you must:
- Talk to your child - try to find out why.
- Meet with a member of Academy staff to discuss the situation and look for solutions.
- Try to understand what is happening for your child and help them resolve the problem.
Education is key to your child’s future success so it is important to solve issues as quickly as possible. It is very important that you speak with the Academy at the earliest opportunity if you have any worries at all about securing your child’s attendance.
