Good attendance at school is the single most important factor to ensure that young people have the maximum life chances - attendance is strongly linked to educational achievement. North Oxfordshire Academy expects all students to attend regularly and punctually. Every student should have an attendance of at least 97%. If a student’s attendance falls below this level the academy will take steps to engage parents and, in some cases, external agencies, to address the reasons for poor attendance.
Good attendance is important in order for children to:
It is a legal obligation of all parents/carers to ensure their child attends school regularly. Parents are responsible for ensuring children attend school regularly in a condition to learn.
North Oxfordshire Academy recognises that this can only be achieved through a close partnership with parents.
Questions to consider:
Children should be at school by 8.20am each morning. Parents should contact the school as soon as possible if a child is going to be absent or late for any reason e.g. doctor, dentist and provide an appointment card. The school has a dedicated phone line for reporting absence.
Parents may be required to provide medical evidence to substantiate that their child’s illness required them to be absent from school, i.e. some form of medical verification.
We understand that some appointments are unavoidable i.e. with hospital specialists. However, appointments where there is flexibility such as dental appointments or eye tests should not be scheduled during the school day.
Attendance below 90% is considered to be poor and your child will be classified as being persistently absent.
90% attendance = ½ day missed every week. Over one school year this is 4 weeks of learning lost.
What impact might this have on your child’s future …?
Arriving to school on time matters too. Being frequently late for school adds up to lost learning:
There are 13 weeks of holiday during the school year which is why holidays in term time are never permitted at North Oxfordshire Academy.
Holiday Warning Letter
Your child’s attendance and punctuality is being monitored all the time.
Pupils with low attendance and punctuality will be highlighted and given extra support to improve this.
At NOA 97% or above is considered to be good attendance.
17 missed schools days means that in secondary school they could drop a whole GCSE grade.
Our Target for attendance is 97%