Attendance and Punctuality

At Oasis Academy Nunsthorpe we take attendance and punctuality very seriously.  We expect all pupils to attend school regularly and to arrive at school on time and ready to learn.  

Our robust systems for monitoring and improving attendance give pupils the best possible chance of success both academically and socially.

We provide support for families through our Attendance and Pastoral team. Please speak with a member of the team if there are issues you would like to discuss that are impacting on your child’s regular attendance.  

The Senior Attendance Champion at Oasis Academy Nunsthorpe is Mr David Stead. The role of the Senior Attendance Champion is important in promoting that attendance is everyone's business. You can contact the Senior Attendance Champion or a member of their attendance team through the school office 01472 310013 if you need support with helping your child to attend school regularly.  The attendance team will be able to identify barriers to attendance and support you with the difficulties you or child are encountering.

Our Attendance Lead is Mrs Angie Turner. You can contact her on 01472 310013 or angela.turner@oasisnunsthorpe.org if you have any worries about your child's attendance. 

Here are some changes the Department for Education have made to the guidance on school attendance, specifically around term time holidays and irregular attendance of school. These changes could have serious consequences for families and so we wanted to share them with you to ensure that you are fully aware. The full guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance

Attendance and your legal responsibility as parents 

You have a legal responsibility to make sure that your child attends school regularly. If your child is not attending school regularly the Attendance Lead will contact you to arrange a meeting to discuss any concerns that you may have. We have a duty to report unauthorised absences to the local authority and the parents of pupils who have a record of persistent and/or unauthorised absence may be fined or have legal action taken against them.  

Punctuality and your legal responsibility as parents 

Being on time for school establishes good habits for the future. Being late for school has a significant impact on learning time and will ultimately affect the attainment your child due to the disruption it causes.    

Half Terms	Sessions absent (am, pm)	Time in days
1	7 or more sessions	3.5
1+2	14 or more sessions	7
1-3	20 or more sessions	10
1-4	25 or more sessions	12.5
1-5	31 or more sessions	15.5
1-6	38 or more sessions	19

We understand that there will be times when a pupil will require time off school. It is the schools decision whether this is authorised or not.

Authorised and unauthorised absence 

If a student is absent from Oasis Academy Nunsthorpe, it is vital that their parent lets school know as soon as possible to give a reason either over the telephone or in person at the gate or office.  All absences from school can result in a telephone call and/or a home visit.  

Please contact us on the first day of absence if your child is ill and will not be attending. In order to maximise individual achievement, parents should avoid making routine appointments for children during the academy day or taking family holidays during term time.  

If absences are not reported to school, a message will be sent out to parents asking them to inform school of the reason. If no contact is still made from home, a home visit will be undertaken by one of the attendance team. 

Please note that we now require medical evidence for all illness absence over 3 days. This can be in the form of a note from a pharmacy or out of hours that you may have attended for medication for your child, as we know how difficult it is to get into a GP. 

Keep to a minimum the amount of time your child is off with illness, it is OK to return on a Friday. 

Appointments during term time 

If a child has an appointment, parents need to tell the class teacher or the office in advance and bring in proof.   

If the appointment is in the morning the child should come to school and get their mark first and return to school after the appointment. If they don’t return for the afternoon session, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised, unless a reasonable explanation is given.

Term time holidays 

We do not authorise holidays during term time; however, in very exceptional circumstances the Principal may authorise term time leave. The Principal will make a decision based upon the individual circumstances of each case and will take into account current attendance and attainment levels. The Principal's decision is final and families who take term time holidays without the permission of the Principal will be referred to the local authority’s multi agency support teams, who will initiate proceedings for a fixed term penalty fine.  

What if my child’s attendance continues to go down and isn’t improving? 

 1.    There will be a new national threshold of 10 unauthorised sessions of absence for any reason (equivalent to 5 school days) within a rolling 10 school week period for when a penalty notice must be considered. 

 2.    The new rules mean you will no longer be able to take your child out of school for one week’s holiday without a penalty notice being issued. 

 3.    The fine will be £160, if paid within 21 days, it will reduce to £80. This fine is per parent and per child. 

 4.    If a second penalty fine is issued to the same parent for the same child within a 3-year rolling period, the fine will automatically rise to £160 with no option to pay the lower rate of £80. 

 5.    If a parent then meets the criteria above for a third time (number 1.) in a 3-year rolling period, the local authority will need to consider other enforcement options available to them. 

 This guidance came into effect from 19th August 2024, and we will have to adhere to it from September. It relates to unauthorised absence.