At Ash Hill Academy we strongly believe that excellent attendance and punctuality is the key to success of all of our learners. We therefore promote and emphasise the importance of strong and effective partnerships with parents/carers to achieve our aims for every single student. Full attendance maximises learning opportunities and parents/carers have a vital role in promoting good attitudes in attendance, ensuring that their children are present at every opportunity, arrive on time and avoid allowing children to stay at home unnecessarily or taking them out of school without authorisation.

Our attendance target of 97% is the minimum that we expect for all students. Every lesson counts and it is this commitment to learning that will have a positive effect on student’s examinations and ultimately their futures. 

Contact the Academy by 8.15 am on the first day of absence and subsequent days of absence.

Safe & Well home visits are conducted by our Attendance Staff when a student is absent from the Academy. We conduct these regardless of whether we have received notification from parents/carers in relation to the reason your child is absent from the Academy. This may be on the first or second day of absence. Please note if we are not able to conduct a safe and well visit and see the student after 48 hours, we will notify South Yorkshire Police and Social Care.

At Ash Hill Academy we strive for every student to attain 100% attendance.

We expect all our students to achieve a minimum of 97% attendance.  

Ash Hill Academy believes that excellent attendance and punctuality is the key for our Ash Hill Learner’s Success. It is the foundation upon which the academy and home can work together. Therefore, we must ensure that attendance and punctuality are the highest they possibly can be to prepare our students for their future adult life. We request from parents support to keep absenteeism and lateness to an absolute minimum.

All Students are expected to arrive at the Academy by 8.15 am, ready for lessons at 8.25 am. Any student who arrives in late into the academy will be marked as late and will receive a C4 Late detention.

Attendance percentages are not like examination results: an attendance percentage needs to be in the high nineties before it can be considered good. Consider the following examples: –

Each year, a number of students in every year group achieve 100% attendance records, showing that this is an achievable target. In addition, a number of students have achieved this level of attendance in successive years. Ash Hill Academy expects all our students to achieve a minimum of 97% attendance.

Good attendance at school is vital for pupils to achieve their full educational potential. Pupils with good attendance records benefit in the following ways: –

Parents play a very important role in ensuring the good attendance records of their children. Below is a list of suggested strategies: –

Only the academy can authorise an absence. An explanation given by a parent is not, necessarily, sufficient for the academy to authorise an absence.

According to guidelines to schools from the Department for Education and Science, an absence may only be authorised if the absence is due to: –

Absences which the academy is not able to authorise include: –

Children can show their worries and concerns in a number of different ways e.g. a reluctance to go to school, feigning illness, failure to attend school even though the child is sent, missing lessons whilst in school. If a problem seems to be emerging parents should: –

Any absence, including absence for holidays, interrupts the continuity of student’s learning. Parents/carers are strongly urged not to take students out of the Academy for holidays during term time. 

The Department of Education does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance.

If you still wish to take your child out of the Academy during term time – please complete a Leave of Absence form which can be collected from reception.

Please note: All leave of absence requests will be classed as unauthorised, unless you receive confirmation in writing from the Academy that the Leave of absence has been authorised.  There are no exceptions.

Please be aware of the new legislation by the Government, from August 2024 the PENALTY NOTICE, for school absences across the country will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days, this will reduce to £80 if paid within 21 days.

If a parent receives a SECOND PENALTY NOTICE for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days. (no reduction if paid earlier)

Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period for the same child. 

Once this limit has been reached, other action’s may be considered like an Attendance contract, Education Supervision Order or Prosecution, these will be considered if the school attendance of the child is not secured.

A student becomes a Persistent Absentee when they miss 10% of their schooling across the academic year for whatever reason. Absence at this level is doing considerable damage to any child’s educational prospects and we need parents’/carers’ full support and co-operation to tackle this. 

Registers are legal documents; regulatory requirements placed on schools regarding the keeping of registers are to be found in the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2024.         

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states that parents/carers are responsible to ensure their child receives a suitable education.

Under section 444 of the Education Act 1996, a parent who fails to ensure their child attends the school at which they are registered, is guilty of an offence.

The Academy works together with the Local Authority to ensure that parents/carers fulfil their responsibility. There are a range of legal sanctions that may be imposed for dealing with unauthorised absence: Education Penalty Notices, Parenting Contracts and Orders, Education Supervision Orders or referral to the Magistrates Court which can recommend fines (up to £2500) or up to 3 months in prison.