Attendance
Manor Croft Academy has excellent standards of attendance. Regular attendance is important and absence should be restricted to the unavoidable. It is a legal requirement that schools keep accurate records of student attendance. The government expectation for a child’s attendance is 97% minimum.
Except for illness, no student should be absent from school without the permission of the Principal in advance. Parents are requested not to arrange family holidays or outings in term time; such absences are undesirable because they severely disrupt the student’s programme of learning and assessment.
Absence due to illness
If your child is absent you must:
- Contact the academy by 8.25am on the first day of absence and on any subsequent days of absence
- Send a note in on the first day they return to the academy, with an explanation of the absence. This must be brought to Student Services, with the child’s full name and form on.
If your child is absent we will:
- Telephone or text on the My Child at School app on the first day of absence
- Education Welfare Officer may conduct a “safe and well” call on first day of absence
- Education Welfare Officer will also visit home if absence is an ongoing concern
Leave of Absence Request
Manor Croft will not grant permission for leave of absence for holidays during term time
Amendments to The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 made in 2013 removed references to family holiday and extended leave as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days. The amendments make clear that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
All requests for absence must be made in advance in writing, via the Leave Of Absence form below or can be obtained from the School Office or Attendance Officer. Please state clearly the dates of the intended absence together with the number of school days that will be affected. Leave of absence cannot be authorised retrospectively.
Authorised and unauthorised absence
The law requires that all schools must show the difference between authorised and unauthorised absence.
Examples of absence which would be authorised by the school are:
- Sickness
- Medical or dental appointments which cannot be arranged outside school hours
- Days of religious observance
- Exceptional circumstances such as bereavement
Examples of absence which we would regard as unauthorised are:
- Truancy
- Staying at home to look after younger children or sick relatives
- Birthdays
- Resting after a late night
- Relatives visiting or visiting relatives
- Attending concerts or having days out to attend local events
- Any absence about which the school has not been informed by letter and approved
Lateness
Students, who arrive late, after 8.25 a.m. but before 9.00 a.m. should report to the Student Reception, who will record the late arrival. Please note detentions are given to those students who are late for the next available date shown in their planner.
Where students are persistently late appropriate action will be taken and parents informed. Attendance and punctuality information is recorded on reports. Students arriving after 9.00 a.m. should report to the main reception.
