Attendance at ESA
Statement of Intent
At the ESA we are committed to promoting excellent levels of attendance and punctuality, enabling our students to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them. Good attendance helps the students in our community to maximise their learning. The ESA aims to encourage and assist all students to achieve excellent levels of attendance and punctuality and reduce Persistent Absence in order that all students are assisted in reaching their potential.
The ESA will provide a safe learning environment and maintain records of attendance according to legislation and guidance on a daily basis.
Only the Principal can authorise absence. The ESA will provide attendance details on the child’s annual report.
The ESA will follow up all instances of poor attendance and punctuality.
Students, Parents and Carers’ Responsibilities
Parents/Carers have a legal obligation to ensure their child attends college.
Parents/Carers are expected to ensure their child attends college regularly, on time, properly dressed and equipped and in a fit condition to learn.
Parents/Carers must inform ESA on the first day of absence and give a reason for their child’s absence. Parents/Carers will also maintain daily contact with us until their child returns to college. Parents/Carers should have made contact by 9.15am.
Parents/Carers are required to inform the school by email to attendance@esa.ac where possible or by telephone 0208 386 6226 giving a reason for their child’s absence. Parents/Carers should have made contact by 9.15am.
Where no email/telephone call has been received from a Parent/Carer our Attendance Officers will contact each Parent/Carer for a valid reason of their child’s absence.
Absence will not be authorised where a parent has not provided any reason for absence.
All students are expected to attend college regularly and punctually.
All students must remember to hand any note to college providing reasons for absence.
All students will be expected to be ready to learn.
Lateness to Lessons
KS4 and KS5 - Lateness to lessons and school will be added up and ‘paid back’ on Friday at the end of the school day at 3pm with a detention. Students and parents will be informed by email.
Punctuality Concerns
If the student continues to show poor punctuality, a letter of concern is sent to the parents/carers and the student will be monitored.
If punctuality does not improve, then a second letter is sent home inviting the parents to a meeting to discuss how to help improve the situation. Consistent lateness will result in a Fixed Penalty Fine being issued to parents by the local authority.
It is important that students are safe and accounted for at all times during the day. Because of this, any unexplained absence is monitored very carefully.
Absence Due to Illness
Notification must be provided for all absences.
Absences are authorised by the Principal only. In most cases, absence is genuine and marked as authorised on the register.
Parents/carers must give specific reasons for absence – being ‘ill’ is not enough.
Parents/carers may be asked to provide evidence that their child is too ill to attend college.
Unless parents/carers have been given a particular time scale of absence through illness by a doctor they are expected to contact the college each day to let us know what is happening. The details of emails/telephone calls are recorded and monitored on Arbor.
Illness is counted as part of the % non attendance even if authorised.
Exceptional Leave
There have been amendments to The Education (Student Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, which came into force from 1st September 2013. These remove all references to family holiday and extended leave therefore:
Whenever a parent/carer requests to take a student out of college for leave during term time, unless there are exceptional circumstances, the absence will be unauthorised by the Principal, and the parent/carer is reminded that the request contravenes the code of conduct agreement signed upon application to the college.
No leave of absence will be granted unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Parents/carers may make an application for a leave of absence for an exceptional circumstance.
The Principal will decide whether this application will be granted.
The Principal will decide the number of days granted for any leave of absence.
Leave of absence taken without permission will be unauthorised when this occurs you may be at risk of a Fixed Penalty Notice.
Elstree Screen Arts Academy will decide what is deemed as an exceptional circumstance.
Absence due to medical appointments
We would request that all medical appointments, if possible, are made after college.
If a medical appointment is known in advance parents/carers must notify ESA by email/in writing and a copy of the medical appointment card/letter should be attached. If an emergency appointment is made, please email/telephone before 09.00.
Notification must be given if a student needs to leave college during the day. Students must sign out at reception and sign back in again on their return.
Fixed Penalty Notices
A penalty notice will be issued with regard to unauthorised absence if a student fails to attend college as required without a genuine explanation.
A student’s absence must have been unauthorised for at least 15 sessions (one session is half day either am or pm) in the previous and/or current term. Penalty notices will involve a parent paying a fine of £60 if paid within 21 days, or £120 if paid within 28 days.
The issuing of penalty notices will comply with the code of conduct and practice as determined by the Local Authority.
Attendance Policy
To view our Attendance Policy please visit our Policies page.
Attendance Diamond
We measure the risks of non-attendance against a scale called the ‘attendance diamond’. Click the button below to download it.