Attendance

Kettering Buccleuch Academy believes that regular, punctual school attendance is vital for high achievement in order that students can be the best that they can be. Absence from school is recognised as a safeguarding issue as it places children at risk and, in some cases, it can result in students being drawn into anti-social or criminal behaviour.

Absence Procedure

If your child is unable to attend school please notify us by messaging via arbor or by emailing studentabsence@kba.uk by 8am on each and every day of absence. Where possible please also provide evidence of any appointments or medical documentation.

Please ensure that we are informed of a continuing absence as early as possible on every subsequent day of absence.

Late Procedure

Students in Secondary years are expected to be inside their period 1 lesson by 8:30am.

The academy opens to students at 8:15am and students must make their way immediately to their period 1 lesson.

Arriving after 8:30am will result in students receiving a ‘Late’ mark.

Arriving after 9:00am will result in students being marked as ‘Arriving late after registers have closed’ which will impact upon their overall attendance.

Students in primary are expected to be in school by 8:40am. Primary gates will open at 8.35am and the children will be able to come straight into their classrooms. Primary gates will be closed at 8.50 and should the children arrive after this time, they should go to reception and they will be recorded as late.

The Importance of Good Attendance

We reward those students whose attendance is good or better, or showing signs of significant improvement.

The range of rewards we use includes certificates, tickets for Attendance Reward Concerts and invitations to high profile events such as the Year 11 Prom which is held at Boughton House.

Regular attendance of students is closely related to their levels of achievement. This makes the issue of regular attendance of great importance. Under education legislation, parents have a duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly and punctually. Failure to do so, without reasonable excuse, can result in referrals to the Local Authority with the prospect of fines or prosecution for those parents, should a child’s attendance not improve rapidly.

What is Good Attendance?

It is useful for you to know what attendance figures mean for your child. We encourage all parents and carers to use the Arbor app in order to monitor their child's attendance.

Our minimum expected target for all students is 96%.

All students whose attendance is below 90% are classified as Persistent Absentees and, depending upon personal circumstances, face possible referral to the Education Inclusion Partnership Team.

The image below provides more detailed information about attendance over the course of a full academic year.

Parents are expected to perform their legal duty by ensuring their children of compulsory school age who are registered at KBA attend regularly and arrive to school on time. If a child of compulsory school age fails to attend regularly at a school at which they are registered the parents may be guilty of an offence and can be prosecuted by the local authority.

Our attendance team supports parents, students, teaching staff and other professionals to secure the highest possible attendance for all students in both the Primary and Secondary sections of the academy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Happens If My Child's Attendance Is A Concern?

We will ensure that you are regularly informed of your child's attendance. If your child's attendance becomes a concern you may receive a letter requesting that you attend a meeting with a member of staff in order to discuss the barriers to attendance.

If, after initial measures to support your child have been unsuccessful, parents may be invited to attend a Governors' Attendance Panel where these concerns will be discussed with a member of the Local Governing Body, the child's Head of Year and the academy's Attendance Manager.

What If I Need To Make A Medical or Dental Appointment?

We hope you will support us in maintaining good attendance by booking medical and dental appointments and shopping trips either in the school holidays, after 3.30pm or at weekends.

The current school year has 188 days. This means that there are 167 other days that are available for appointments to be made. Most medical and dental surgeries also offer appointments outside of school hours.

How Do I Request A Leave Of Absence For My Child?

Should you wish to request to take your child out of school for exceptional circumstances, please contact us and request a Leave of Absence Form, also available to download, using the link below.

These forms should be returned to Main Reception (for Primary students) or Student Reception (for Secondary students) or via your child's Form Tutor or Class Teacher at least 2 weeks before the requested dates for absence.

Once received, the Vice Principal will consider your request. Only those requests which are considered to be due to exceptional circumstances will be authorised.

Any requests for leave of absence that are submitted with less than 10 days notice will be coded as unauthorised.

What Are The Rules About Term Time Holidays and Penalty Notices?

New regulations from the Department for Education regarding term time holidays came into force on September 1^st 2013. In summary, Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term-time except for exceptional circumstances. The new regulations remove any reference to family holidays, extended leave and the statutory threshold of ten school days. I have copied the DFE regulations below for your information and urgent attention. Please take the time to read these as they may have a serious impact upon parents who choose to remove their children from school during term time for holidays.

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006

Amendments have been made to the 2006 regulations in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. These amendments, as described below, will come into force on 1 September 2013.

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 currently allow Headteachers to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday during term time in “special circumstances” of up to ten school days leave per year. Headteachers can also grant extended leave for more than ten school days in exceptional circumstances.

Amendments to the 2006 regulations remove references to family holiday and extended leave as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days. The amendments make clear that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Headteachers should determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted.

The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 444A(6), 444B(1), (2) and (4) and 569 of the Education Act 1996(1) and sections 105(5), 106(1), (2) and (4) and 181 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006(2).

These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024. These Regulations come into force on 19th August 2024.

The amount of the penalty to be paid under a penalty notice issued to a parent under section 444A(1) of the 1996 Act is as follows.

Where no penalty notice has been issued to the parent under section 444A(1) of the 1996 Act in respect of the same child in the preceding three-year period, the amount of the penalty is...

• £80, where the amount is paid within the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice is received;

• £160, Where a penalty notice has been issued to the parent under section 444A(1) of the 1996 Act in respect of the same child in the preceding three-year period, the amount of the penalty is £160.

• “Preceding three-year period” means the period of three years ending with the date on which the penalty notice is issued.