Every Minute Counts

It is essential that your child arrives at school on time every day in order to fully engage in their learning opportunities. Late arrivals not only disrupt your child’s routine but also result in missed valuable school time, which can impact their educational progress.

In order to maintain accurate attendance records, we use the following codes for late arrivals:

• Arriving between 8:50am—9:00am: L (Late)
• Arriving after 9:00am: U (Late after registration closes)

Please be aware that a late arrival after 9:00am will be marked as unauthorised, which can affect your child’s attendance percentage. Therefore, we kindly request your cooperation in ensuring that your child arrives promptly at school each day.

To illustrate the impact of punctuality, being just 15 minutes late every day can accumulate to the equivalent of missing 10 full days of learning over the school year. We aim to prevent such loss and maximise your child’s educational experience.

Attendance Expectations

The law states that parents and carers have a duty to ensure that children of compulsory school age receive suitable education. As your child will be enrolled at our school, we would like to emphasise the importance of regular attendance, we take attendance extremely seriously and will always challenge poor attendance and other attendance issues in line with statutory guidance.

Regular attendance not only ensures that your child can make the most of their learning opportunities but also plays a vital role in achieving their full potential. 

Our target is for children to achieve at least 96% attendance. If your child’s attendance falls below the expected level, we will contact you to discuss any issues and provide support. Our school also benefits from the assistance of a Local Authority Education Welfare Officer who is available to offer advice and guidance to both the school and our families.

Absences

Absence from school will only be authorised in cases of severe and exceptional circumstances. Any unauthorised absence, regardless of your child’s overall attendance percentage, is a cause for concern as it may impact their progress and development. Failure to ensure regular attendance could lead to further action.

If at any point you would like to discuss your child’s attendance please feel free to contact us by emailing us at attendance@humberstoneacademy.co.uk.

All absences are required in writing. Therefore, if you call the office to request leave or inform us of your child’s absence, you will still be asked to provide the reason in writing. For most cases, reporting absence on ParentMail is our preference. However, you can report by emailing: attendance@humberstoneacademy.co.uk

Absence due to illness: 

It is vitally important that children attend school 100% of the time, but we understand that there are times when illness may prevent them from doing so.

For some of the most common illnesses children can still attend school. As we only authorise absence if it is absolutely necessary for your child to stay at home, we encourage you to follow the guidance provided by the NHS if unsure whether to send your child to school. You can access this information at: www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/.

If your child is going to be absent from school, it is important that you inform us in writing by 9.00am on the morning of the absence to advise us. If we do not hear from you then we will contact you to ask for the reason. Our preferred method to receive notification of absence is via ParentMail.

Absence Requests (Holiday, Religious Observance, Compassionate etc): 

You have to get permission from the head teacher if you want to take your child out of school during term time. You can only do this if:

• you make an application to the head teacher 2 weeks in advance (as a parent the child normally lives with)
• there are exceptional circumstances

It is up to the head teacher how many days your child can be away from school if leave is granted.  

To request leave, please complete our Absence Request form which is available at the school office or email the school providing all information, including the dates, the reason, destination and flight information (if applicable).

You can be fined and/or prosecuted for taking your child out of school during term time without the school’s permission.

Penalty Notice Fines

   – 1st offence: £160 per parent, per child (£80 if paid in 21 days)
   – 2nd offence: £160 per parent, per child (no reduction)
   – 3rd offence: Prosecution in Magistrates’ Court (fines up to £2,500 per parent, per child + criminal record implications)