Attendance at South Nottinghamshire Academy 

The South Nottinghamshire Academy is committed to providing all students with a full-time education that maximises each student’s opportunities and allows everyone to realise their true potential.  We believe that if a student is to benefit from education, good attendance is crucial. 

Attendance is a critical factor to a productive and successful Academy career; our Academy will actively promote and encourage 100% attendance for all our students. 

The South Nottinghamshire Academy will give high priority to communicating with parents and students the importance of regular and punctual attendance.  We recognise that parents have a vital role to play and that there is a need to establish strong home-school links and communications systems that can be utilised whenever there is concern about attendance.

If there are problems which affect a student’s attendance we will investigate, identify and strive, in partnership with parents and students, to resolve those problems as quickly as possible.

Attendance Team

If you have any concerns or questions about your childs attendance, you can contact our attendance team.  Our Attendance Officer is Miss Mitchell and our Attendance Administrator is Miss Newton. 

General Absence

You will need to notify the Academy on the morning of each day your child is absent from school. Calls should be made before 9:00am if possible. Your message should be left on the answering service by calling 0115 9110091 and pressing option 1. Alternatively, email attendance@snacademy.org.uk

Injuries / Mobility Difficulties

If your child has an injury or requires special medical assistance when they return to school, please telephone us to discuss your child’s mobility needs. For example, if they need crutches to help them to walk, we will need to make special arrangements for them to move around the academy. We are required to complete a risk assessment to ensure the safety of your child on site and we can only do this if you let us know in advance of their return to school. Thank you for your help with this.

Understanding Types of Absences

Every half day absence has to be classified by the school (not by parent/guardians) as either authorised or unauthorised. Information about the cause of any absence is always required, even if it is personal.

Authorised

Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason such as illness, medical/dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, or emergencies.

Unauthorised

Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable. This type of absence can lead to the Local Authority using sanctions and/or legal proceedings. This includes:

• Parents/guardians keeping pupils off unnecessarily.
• Truancy before or during the school day.
• Absences which have never been properly explained.
• Shopping, looking after other children or birthdays.
• Day trips and holidays in term time.
• Oversleeping.
• Absence to look after a sibling who is unwell or to take them to school.
• Confusion over term dates.

Any problems with regular attendance are best sorted out between school, the parent/guardian and the student.  

Holidays during Term-Time

Holidays during term-time will not be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances.

• On average children who miss 17 days of school in one year lose one full grade at GCSE
• Missing just 7 ½ days can make a significant difference to the chances of achieving five good GCSE grades.
• In year 10 and 11, students have internal exams and GCSE modules throughout the year. Missing one of these (or the preparatory work beforehand) could seriously affect your child’s final grade.

If you would still like to apply for your child to have authorised absence from school, please complete the Absence Request Form - PDF.
This form should be returned to School Services AT LEAST FOUR WEEKS before the first day of absence. Please do not book holidays before you know whether the absence will be approved.

Punctuality

If your child is late to school, they will be required to sign in at the Head of House office where they will be issued with a late slip to pass to the teacher.  Lateness is not tolerated at South Nottinghamshire Academy, therefore, avoidable lateness will result in a detention.  Poor punctuality will lead to further consequences.