Our vision

We want all students to thrive at Aston Academy. We know good attendance is vital for students to gain the most from their time at school. We want all students to be in school as much as possible making the most of learning time.

Working together

The vast majority of our students attend regularly and we would like to thank you for working with us. Most students at Aston Academy have an excellent attendance record and we will continue to work with you to ensure these standards are maintained.

We will be discussing individual attendance regularly with students and reinforcing the importance of being here. There is a reward system in place to recognise and reward good and improving attendance to show students how much we value this.

The rights of your child and the law

The law states that every child has an entitlement to full time education and it is the legal responsibility of each parent and carer to make sure their child receives that education. As your child is registered to attend Aston Academy, you have a legal duty to ensure your child attends Aston Academy regularly.

The impact of poor attendance

95% attendance is equivalent to 9 days off each academic year, more than one a half term. This equates to 45 missed lessons. 90% attendance is the equivalent of one day missed every fortnight.

As expected children who attend school regularly achieve better grades. School is also a protective factor for mental health.

Timings and routines

Please actively ensure that your child arrives on time each morning at 8.30 am. Lessons begin promptly at 8.40 am. Should your child arrive late, after 9.10, they will receive a U code for the morning session which counts as an unauthorised absence.

Genuine illness and exceptional circumstances are the only acceptable reasons for absence. Please see our attendance policy on the website for further information. In all cases of absence, we operate a policy of daily contact.  A telephone call indicating the reason for absence is required daily to ensure safeguarding of students. If we do not receive a message, parents/carers will be contacted to establish the reason for any absence. If we are unable to secure a reason for any particular absence, it will be recorded as unauthorised.  This will lead to further contact with our Educational Welfare Officer which may include home visits to ensure students are accounted for and safe.

Please ensure medical and dental appointments are made out of academy hours wherever possible.  Any taking place in school hours will be unauthorised unless medical evidence is provided and the appointment time was unavoidable.

Parents/Carers - If you need to contact the Attendance team please telephone 0114 2872171 and select option 2. Alternatively you can email attendance@astonacademy.org

School holidays during term time will not be authorised. Please see our Leave of Absence policy available on the website. Learning takes place every day of the academic year. There are no periods of time when students will not be affected by an absence. Important work will be missed and this will disadvantage your child.

Under no circumstances should any student leave the academy premises during session times without the permission of their Learning Progress Manager or a senior member of staff. All students should remain on the site during lunchtime.

Illness

Please ensure your child attends school if they can. If your child says they feel unwell in a morning, unless the illness is severe, we recommend they attend school as they will often feel better during the day. We have First Aid provision should they continue to feel unwell and need to go home.

There is no need for a child to stay off with either covid-19, unless very unwell, or suspected covid-19. This is in line with government guidance. As such this will be unauthorised.

If your child vomits they can come back to school once vomiting has stopped. There is no need for children to stay off for 48 hours after vomiting has stopped.

We want to continue to work with you and your child to help them achieve their very best. We believe this begins by working together to ensure excellent attendance and punctuality.

Leave of Absence and Holidays

The government‘s guidance states that under exceptional circumstances the principal may consider giving permission for a child to be absent from school for a maximum of 10 days in any one school year In line with Government guidelines. The principal does not have to give permission if you request a holiday. If the holiday is not approved, your child’s absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

Please fill out the form below to request a leave of absence in term time.