Attendance

At Penrice Academy we want to do our best for all our students and believe that regular attendance is vital. We will consistently work towards a goal of 100% attendance for all children. Our Attendance Policy can be viewed from the School Policies page of this website.

• At Penrice Academy, good attendance is 96% and above. If your child’s attendance falls below this, you are at risk of committing an offence under the Education Act 1996 – see below.
• All requests for absence should be made formally to the Principal at least one month in advance using the Request for Absence Form.
• Only one leave of absence request will be considered per academic year. We will confer with other schools where there are siblings in more than one school.
• Absences will only be authorised for sickness (evidence may be required), religious observance, failure of school transport or where the Principal has given specific permission.
• Requests for holiday absence during term-time will NOT be authorised except in exceptional circumstances.

Where a request for absence has not been authorised and the child is still taken out of school, this will be recorded as unauthorised absence. We are committed to following our attendance policy in respect of the prosecution process in relation to any unauthorised absences.

Report a Student Absence

Unauthorised absence including term-time holidays: the Law

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 places a duty upon the parents of a child of compulsory school age to ensure that child receives an efficient, full-time education. Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 states that if any child of compulsory school age is a registered pupil at a school and fails to attend regularly, then the parent of the child shall be guilty of an offence.

If you take your child(ren) out of school without permission, you will be committing an offence under the Education Act 1996.
We may refer the matter to Cornwall Legal Services who may decide to prosecute. A conviction may result in a fine of up to £2,500, a prison sentence of up to three months or both. Alternatively, a penalty notice may be issued under Section 444A and 444B of the Education Act 1996. This carries a fine of £60 if paid within 21 days or £120 if paid after this but within 28 days. Failure to pay the penalty notice may result in court action.

What do we do at Penrice Academy to promote good attendance?

We like to celebrate good attendance. Over the last two years we have seen our overall school attendance increase from 95.4% to 95.6% which is extremely positive news. We will, however, continue to work hard to reach our target of a whole school attendance of 96%. Some of the things we do to recognise good attendance:

• Recognition of those students that attend 100% for the week by awarding merits, and those that are making improvements with their attendance
• Termly tutor group award including Love to Shop voucher, cinema tickets and merits
• Individual attendance support plans for students who need extra help with their attendance issues
• Regular meetings with Heads of Year and Senior Leadership Team about school attendance

Please note that we monitor attendance regularly. If your child’s attendance falls lower than 90% or causes concern, you may be contacted by the school’s Education Welfare Officer.

Contact

Please contact the school’s Attendance Officer, Mrs Emily Bennett, to discuss any issues with school attendance – ebennett@penrice.org.uk. Alternatively please contact a member of the Pastoral Team.