Attendance

As you may know schools are continually monitored very closely within Bradford Education Authority.

This means that families of children with unauthorised absence could be liable to fines or prosecution and that government officials will inspect our school if attendance fails to improve. 

Our overall school attendance for academic year 2018/19 was 94.7%; this is below the national level of 96%. We are having a huge focus on attendance and aim to get back up to 96% by the end of the year.

To improve this level of attendance we need to address the following factors:  

• Lateness must STOP! Children who arrive late cause disruption to the class and often find it difficult to settle into a lesson once it has started. A child who arrives after registration has closed will be marked unauthorised for that session.  
• For Medical and Dental appointments, we would strongly advise you to request them outside of school time unless absolutely necessary. We will need to take a copy of your child’s appointment card or letter to authorise this absence. 
• New government guidelines, instruct headteachers to no longer authorise leave of absence (holidays and trips abroad in term time). If this is taken without consultation and school authorisation, the local code of conduct allows for Penalty Notices to be issued to parents and your child may lose their place at school. 
• You are required by law to advise school if your child is going to be absent. If no reason is given for any absence within 5 days it will be recorded as unauthorised. Please remember that early morning aches and pains often pass, so don’t keep your child at home ‘just in case’ when they could be learning in class. We would not keep a child in school if they are genuinely ill and will contact parents if we feel they need to go home.  
• Parents of children with persistent unauthorised absence of less than 90% will now be referred to the Education Safeguarding Team.  We want to avoid any legal intervention but failure to ensure your child attends school regularly can result in a fine of up to £2500 and /or 3 months in prison.  

Holycroft is a fantastic, safe learning environment and we are a dedicated team of staff who care about your child. 

Please continue supporting us to improve your child’s education and future.

Working together, we do ‘make a difference’.