Nethergate Academy is committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all pupils. We believe it is extremely important for pupils to attend regularly and on time. This will give them the best chance to engage in the educational opportunities and experiences offered to them within school.

Ensuring a child’s regular attendance at school is a parent / carer’s legal responsibility and permitting absence from school without a good reason may result in prosecution.

At Nethergate Academy we:

· Provide a welcoming and caring environment where all members of the Academy feel safe, secure, and valued.

· We expect students to arrive on time every day.

· Will support parents in their legal responsibility to ensure their child attends school regularly and on time.

· We will work with families and other professionals and agencies to ensure that all students receive the appropriate support to attend school.

· We believe a leave of absence should not be taken during term-time. We will not authorize requests for leave of absence during term-time, except in exceptional/ unavoidable circumstances.

Why is regular attendance important?

Children who are persistently late or absent soon fall behind with their learning. Children absent from the academy develop large gaps in their learning which impact their progress and their ability to make good progress against age-related learning expectations. Lateness can also impact on students' ability to follow their morning schedule and feel settled and ready to learn.

95% attendance is 181 days (about 6 months) at school in an academic year, this allows a reasonable number of days off for genuine illness.

A child whose attendance drops to 90% each year will, over their time in primary education, have missed two whole terms of learning.

If good attendance habits are not developed and valued the student will find it extremely difficult to hold onto a job when they are ready to be employed.

How to notify the Academy of an absence

If your child is unable to attend school due to illness or unavoidable circumstances, please contact the school on each day of absence by: Phone call or email- 01159152959 or admin@nethergateacademy.org

Please tell us of any planned absence in advance, including unavoidable medical appointments during the school day.

To inform us about a planned absence: Phone call or email- 01159152959 or admin@nethergateacademy.org