Being the best you can be.

Attendance & Punctuality

Being the best you can be.

Regular school attendance is not merely a requirement but a fundamental pillar of education. It plays a pivotal role in shaping academic success, personal growth, and prospects. Kettering Science Academy and Brooke Weston Trust are committed to transforming educational achievement and to giving students the best start in life academically and as citizens. We promote the importance of pupils attending school on every day possible and recognise that daily attendance is crucial to success.

It is the responsibility of all stakeholders across our academy community – parents/carers, staff, governors, and pupils – to work together to ensure that every pupil and their family has the support and strategies required to attend school daily. Further information can be found on this webpage of our support offered here at Kettering Science Academy, along with all relevant attendance and punctuality practice and legislation.

Reporting an absence:

Parents and carers are expected to communicate with school promptly to inform if their child is going to be absent due to illness or other reasons and maintain daily contact during the period of absence. Absences must be reported through the Edulink app and ideally by 8:30am at the latest. If we are not informed of a reason for absence, this is required to be coded as unauthorised. 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a 10-week period could be referred to the local authority for further action in line with the new government attendance policy.

Safeguarding children:

Home visits are conducted to families to follow-up on pupil absences and provide support to pupils and parents/carers where appropriate.

The school has a duty to safeguard the welfare of all students. Any concerns about a child's attendance will be investigated promptly to ensure support for their wellbeing.

If there are unexplained/prolonged periods of absence or an identified safeguarding concern, this may require school to contact external agencies.

 

Start of the school day:

Pupils are expected to arrive at school before 8:40am to make sure they are in their tutor room and ready for the start of the school day at 8:45am.

Please note that a late gate operates from 8:45am, if pupils arrive after this time, they will be marked as late, and this will be monitored by their tutor and year team.

Pupils arriving after 8:45am will be marked as late. All registers close at 9:15am. The late sign-in code used after this time will constitute as an absence and negatively impact a pupil’s attendance record.

Punctuality:

Arriving at school late is disruptive to a pupil’s daily routine and also means that they may miss a considerable amount of valuable learning time.

Minutes late per day	Equivalent of missing
5 Minutes	3.4 school days a year
10 Minutes	6.9 school days a year
15 Minutes	10.3 school days a year
20 Minutes	13.8 school days a year
30 Minutes	20.7 school days a year

Leave during term time:

Parents and carers must request any planned leave of absence for exceptional circumstances in writing prior to the intended absence of their child. This should be done by completing the ‘Term Time Request for Leave’ form which can be accessed through the school website, or a hard copy collected from school reception. Requests will be reviewed, and a decision made as to whether the absence will be authorised or unauthorised.

In line with Department for Education (2024) regulations, holidays or absences for leisure and recreation would not constitute as exceptional circumstances.

As per the National Framework for Penalty Notices (2024), parents and carers may be issued with a fixed penalty notice or legal sanction if a pupil is absent due to unauthorised leave during term time.

Further information about the National Framework for Penalty Notices can be found in the attached documents below and also our term time absence request form.

Leave during term time - parent form

Recognition-based approach:

- Our approach promotes recognition of personal and collective achievements, fostering positive environments and developing intrinsic motivation. Recognition may be in the form of verbal conversations, celebrations, postcards or text message communication.

- Through our rich curriculum offer, we strive to instil values within our pupils which support them to become successful citizens of the future and promote school attendance as a key component to this success.

Key Attendance Contacts:

Judy Hills – Attendance Officer Judy.Hills@ketteringscienceacademy.org

Steven Scragg – Assistant Principal & School Attendance Lead Steven.Scragg@ketteringscienceacademy.org

Paul Hancock – Vice Principal & Senior Attendance Champion Paul.hancock@ketteringscienceacademy.org

Specific year team contacts below:

7Pastoral@ketteringscienceacademy.org

8Pastoral@ketteringscienceacademy.org

9Pastoral@ketteringscienceacademy.org

10Pastoral@ketteringsciecneacademy.org

11Pastoral@ketteringscienceacademy.org