Academy Attendance Expectations

At Alec Reed Academy, we believe that regular attendance is vital for every child's learning and development. Our expectation is that all pupils attend school at least 96% of the time over the academic year.

This means that your child should not miss more than 7 days of school across the entire year. We understand that there may be unavoidable absences due to illness or other serious matters, but we ask families to keep these to a minimum and to avoid term-time holidays.

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As a school we will:

• Follow up on unexplained absences by phone calls and letters as necessary
• Remind parents of the importance of regular attendance and punctuality in our letters, newsletters, parents evenings and pupil reports
• Acknowledge and reward good attendance and punctuality
• Publish your child’s attendance rate on his/her annual school report
• Let you know if we have concerns regarding your child’s attendance and punctuality
• If we continue to have concerns, make a referral to the Local Authority School Attendance Officer, who visits the school regularly to review and support attendance and punctuality issues

Reporting Absences 

If your child is absent from school, you must contact us in the morning of each day of their absence. This is to ensure that our children are kept safe and the school knows the reason for their absence.

You can report absences via email using the following email address: Attendance@alecreedacademy.co.uk

Parents can leave messages on the school answer machine by dialling the school’s main number: 0208 842 7815.

If a message is not received from a parent

An automated text message will be sent to parents of any absent pupils, which will ask parents to contact the school. If no contact is made, the school will phone parents.

Where there is no explanation for an absence, or the school considers the reason given for the absence unsatisfactory, the absence will be marked as ‘unauthorised.’

Types of Absences 

• Authorised Absences: An absence is classed as ‘authorised’ when a child has been away from school for a legitimate reason (see table below) and school has received notification from a parent or carer.

• Unauthorised Absences: An absence is classed as ‘unauthorised’ when a child is absent for reasons which are not permitted by law. An absence is ‘unauthorised’ if the child is away from school without permission from the school or for good reason.

The school does not grant an absence from school for holidays. On the rare occasion that a trip is unavoidable, the parent should complete a ‘Request leave of absence’ form.

Examples of Authorised Absences:	Examples of Unauthorised Absences:
Illness	Birthday Celebrations
Injury	Holidays (domestic and foreign)
Medical appointment (with evidence)	Foreign/domestic travel (excluding funerals of immediate family)
Entrance exam (for the duration of the exam plus travel time)	Feeling tired
Music exam (for the duration of the exam plus travel time)	Bad weather (e.g., rain, cold)
No suitable transport available (e.g., in the event of deep snow or unsafe weather)	Non-urgent appointment (that can be booked outside of school hours)
Religious festival	Whole day either side of appointment, entrance/music exam
Elite sporting, musical, artistic or extracurricular representation, trial, performance or activity	Parent/sibling unwell (parents should contact school if they are struggling to get their child to school)

Punctuality Matters

Being on time is just as important as attending school every day. When children arrive late, it can be disruptive for them, their classmates, and their learning. Developing good punctuality sets children up with positive habits for life — including responsibility, organisation, and respect for others’ time.

At Alec Reed Academy, the school day begins promptly, and we expect all pupils to arrive on time and be ready to learn.

Start of the Day

• The school gates open at 8:00am and close at 8:40am.
• Pupils should be in their classroom and ready for registration by 8:40am.
• The register is taken at 8:40am sharp.

Late Arrivals

• Any child arriving after 8:40am will be marked as ‘L’ (late) in the register.

Why Punctuality Matters

• Being late means missing the start of lessons, daily routines, or important announcements.
• Arriving even 5–10 minutes late each day adds up to over 3 full days of lost learning across a school year.
• Students who are regularly late can feel embarrassed or unsettled, impacting their confidence and readiness to learn.

Working Together

If you’re finding it difficult to get your child to school on time, we’re here to help. Please speak with the school office, our attendance officer or our SAFE workers, — we can offer support, advice, and practical solutions.

Let’s give every child the best possible start to their school day — on time, every day.

Rewards and Recognition 

We know that encouraging children to attend school regularly works best when families and schools work in partnership — and when we celebrate the effort that students make to be here every day. At Alec Reed Academy, we actively recognise and reward excellent attendance and punctuality in the following ways:

Termly Recognition

Pupils with 100% attendance for a full term receive a certificate in a special assembly.

Praise and Recognition Letters

Students showing significant improvement in attendance or punctuality receive a praise postcard, email or letter home, celebrating their efforts.

By making attendance rewarding and positive, we aim to build habits that will benefit our pupils not only during their time in secondary school, but for years to come.

How can parents help us?

• Ensuring your child attends school regularly. Absence should only happen when your child is significantly ill and therefore unfit to attend school, or if there is an unavoidable/unforeseen reason or circumstance which is causing a difficulty

• Call each day of absence to give us the reason and tell us when your child is likely to return to school
• Arranging all non-emergency medical appointments outside of school hours or during school holidays
• Provide medical evidence for any absence relating to illness directly before or after a school holiday
• Provide medical evidence for an absence of illness lasting more than 3 days
• Making sure we always have your current contact numbers; this includes all telephone numbers, child minders and emergency contact details