Attendance

Attendance Champion: Mr L Gamble lgamble@joycefrankland.org  

Attendance Officer: Mrs D Skinner attendance@joycefrankland.org  

Regular school attendance is a fundamentally important part of a child’s education; there is a proven link between good attendance and positive outcomes for students. Good school attendance gives our students enormous benefits and advantages: they can develop close friendships, make excellent progress in their learning and are enriched by their educational and social experiences.  It develops good habits for life. 

The vision at Joyce Frankland Academy Newport is that all of our students will explore in their learning, fulfil their potential and flourish in their educational and social endeavours, equipping them for life beyond their school years.  We believe an active involvement in school life is underpinned by regular attendance. 

Attendance is a national priority with research showing that student attendance of less than 95% can impact on an individual’s overall attainment by as much as a grade or level. As an Academy, we expect all student attendance to be at least 96%, in line with the DfE guidelines. 

Absence Procedures 

If your child is absent, parents/carers must contact the Academy by 8.30am on the first day of absence and every subsequent day thereafter. There are two official ways an absence can be communicated; either by  using the absence notification on the MY Ed app or calling the Academy on 01799 540237 and selecting option 0 to leave a message on the absence line, All reasons for absence are recorded by the Attendance Officer on SIMS, which parents/carers can view by downloading and using the SIMS Parent app.

Lateness 

Students are expected to be on-site by 8.30am, ready for morning Registration at 8.40am.  If students arrive after this time (for whatever reason), they are expected to sign in with Student Reception, providing a reason for their lateness. 

Medical Appointments 

The Academy requests that all medical appointments are made outside of school hours (8.30am – 3.15pm).  On the occasions when appointments are made within these hours, parents/carers may be asked to provide a copy of the appointment communication from the medical provider to the Attendance Officer. 

Applications for Leave of Absence 

The Academy actively discourages students from taking holidays during term time – current law does not give any entitlement to parents/carers to take their child out of school during term time under the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013.  

Requests for leave of absence should be made using the Academy’s Leave of Absence form which you can find here.  A completed form should then be returned to the Attendance Officer in advance of the absence.  All holiday leave will be recorded as unauthorised unless there is an exceptional circumstance. 

If absence is taken without a request having been made, parents/carers will be asked to give a reason for this absence upon their child’s return to school. 

You can view the Academy’s full Attendance Policy on our website.