Attendance

Sunshine Academy and the Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust want all children to have the best possible attendance to enable each child to reach their full potential. Together, we can improve school attendance.

Attendance Team at Sunshine Academy

Attendance Lead: Miss S Corkindale

Attendance Champion: Mrs D Askew

Key Attendance and Punctuality Reminders

Input information

Important Documents

The Attendance Policy can be found on our Trust Policy page. Please click on the link below to visit the Trust website:Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust Policy Page

To request an exceptional leave of absence please complete the form below:

Exceptional Circumstances Leave of Absence Request Form

Individual Attendance Leaflet for Parent/Carers - EMBED HERE

Please read the DFE's guidance on attendance:

Working together to improve school attendance

Illness and absence Important documents

What to do child illness

It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they're unwell. There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about health protection and managing specific infectious diseases

Health protection in children and young people settings, including educationPlease click on the link below for further information on when children should be kept off school or when they should attend.

Is my child too ill for school

Walsall Health Guidance

As an academy we use the guidance from the 'Spotty book' which outlines illnesses and procedures regarding illness which may affect any child/ adult.

Please find a link to the document below:

Spotty Book - Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines for Schools.pdf

Attendance Matters at Sunshine Academy

Sunshine Academy promotes regular attendance and punctuality at school. This remains a key priority for the safety and wellbeing of all our pupils and staff. Together with The Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust, our Board of Trustees, Governors, and our Trust Attendance Officer, we believe that it is essential for all pupils to attend school every day and on time and to avoid any unnecessary absence. Any loss of time at school can adversely affect a child’s attainment and wellbeing.

Consistency in attendance is essential if children are to make progress and take an active part in school life. As a school we will do all that we can to encourage parents/carers to ensure that the children in their care achieve maximum possible attendance. Any problems that may prevent regular attendance will be identified and acted upon promptly.

Please speak to the school if you need help or support in ensuring your child attends school every day and on time.

Why is school attendance important?

High attainment, confidence with peers and staff, and future aspirations depend on good attendance. Good attendance is important because: Statistics show a direct link between under-achievement and absence below 95%.

Regular attenders make better progress, both socially and academically.

How can I help my child attend school?

We believe that good attendance begins at home.

Below are some ways that you can support your child to attend school every day.

Take an interest in their learning and school
Make sure your child understands that you do not approve of unnecessary absence from school.
Encourage your child to avoid unnecessary absence, for example, by taking time off due to minor illnesses that could be managed in school.
Avoid taking holidays/leave of absence during term time.
Arrange medical appointments outside of school hours. If this is not possible, please support their learning by ensuring they attend school before and after the appointment.
Contact us if your child is experiencing issues that are preventing regular attendance.

The table below show the impact of lost time at school on children's learning, but it also impacts on their well-being. School is the best place for children to be, so if you are not sure whether your child is well enough to come to school speak to us and we can support you.

Attendance During 1 School Year	Equivalent Days	Equivalent Sessions	Equivalent Weeks	Equivalent Hours Missed
95%	9 Days	18 Sessions	2 Weeks	54 Hours
90%	19 Days	38 Sessions	4 Weeks	114 Hours
85%	29 Days	58 Sessions	6 Weeks	174 Hours
80%	38 Days	76 Sessions	8 Weeks	228 Hours
75%	48 days	96 Sessions	10 Weeks	288 Hours
70%	57 Days	114 Sessions	11.5 Weeks	342 Hours
60%	67 Days	134 Sessions	13.5 Weeks	402 Hours

Our Absence Procedures

In case of pupil absence, parents/carers should always inform the school by phoning, writing or in person, so that we can record the reason for the absence by 9.15am.

This is particularly important if an infectious illness is involved, to allow the school to respond in line with Public Health England guidance.

Medical Evidence

Medical evidence may be requested by the school for absences to be authorised and this may be in the form of a copy of a prescription, an appointment card/text or the medication itself. Further examples of evidence are set out in our attendance policy.

Home visits may be undertaken by the Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust or school if a child has been absent for 3 days or when we have no reason for absence provided by parent/carers.

Unauthorised absence (truancy)

The law states that parents/carers must ensure that their child regularly attends the school where they are registered. Should your child fail to attend school regularly legal action may be taken against you.

Once a child is registered in school, attendance is compulsory, and children should attend school every day and on time.

Under the terms of the education related provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, parent/carer(s) may be issued with a Penalty Notice if:

You fail to ensure that your child attends school, or other education provision regularly
You allow your child to take leave of absence in term time without a school’s authorisation
Your failure to return your child to school on an agreed date after a leave of absence
Your child is found out of school, without permission, on two Truancy Sweeps, within the same school year
Your child persistently arrives late for school after the register is closed

Fines

Your local council can give each parent a fine of £80, rising to £160 if you do not pay within 21 days.

From the 2024 to 2025 school year, each parent will only get up to 2 fines for the same child in a 3-year period.

If you get a second fine in 3 years it will be £160. If you do not pay the fine in 28 days you may be taken to court for keeping your child out of school.

If your child is off school 3 or more times within the 3 years you will not be fined but may be taken to court.

You could get a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence up to 3 months. The court could also give you a Parenting Order.

Having Concerns

If you are concerned about your child’s attendance you should initially speak to staff at your child’s school. Support may also be available from your Early Intervention Hub.

The school day starts at:

Years 1 & 2
Reception
Nursery

Unauthorised absence or your child being frequently late could result in fine or prosecution.

Punctuality

As with attendance, it is very important that children arrive to school on time each day. Every minute missed adds up to a vast amount of learning time lost over the school year. Children who arrive late regularly miss starting the school day with their peers and the beginning of lessons. This can also be disrupting for the rest of the class and the teacher.

Here are the school start times:

Arriving after this time will mean your child is late.

As with irregular attendance, if your child is continuously late for school, we will invite parents/ carers in to meet with a member of staff and/or the Trust Attendance Officer.

If a pupil arrives after registration has closed the absence will be recorded as unauthorised for that session. If this persists legal action, in the form of a Penalty Notice or Prosecution under Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 may follow.

Minutes late per day	Equivalent of missing
5 Minutes	3.4 school days a year
10 Minutes	6.9 school days a year
15 Minutes	10.3 school days a year
20 Minutes	13.8 school days a year
30 Minutes	20.7 school days a year

Leave of Absences for Exceptional Circumstances

Where families choose to take a family holiday during term time, this can detrimentally impact a pupil’s progress and can prevent them from fulfilling their true academic potential.

Our school attendance policy, available via our school website, clearly sets out the process that parents should follow if they wish to apply for leave during term time. Leave of Absences should also be discussed with school prior to completing the form.

Please note that applications should only be made, if you feel that there are exceptional circumstances which mean that the leave cannot be taken during the school holidays.

How we Celebrate Attendance and Good Punctuality at Sunshine Academy

At Sunshine Academy, we believe it is important to recognise & celebrate good attendance and punctuality which are extremely important life skills.

We celebrate Attendance in the following ways:

ADD HERE

Monitoring Attendance and Punctuality at Sunshine Academy

Sunshine Academy and the Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust monitor school attendance and punctuality regularly. We will ensure that we spot the early signs of regular absence and will contact you when patterns begin to appear or we see regular absence.

Where absence and punctuality are a cause for concern, you will be contacted by the School or the Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust Attendance Officer. This could be through a telephone call, email, letter, meeting or a home visit.

The Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust and the school will monitor attendance patterns of those pupils who are at risk or are classed as a persistent absentee (below 90%) or severely absent (below 50%).

Meet our Trust Attendance Officer: Miss Jasmin Kaur

Our Trust Attendance Officer works in partnership with the children, their families, the schools, other education services, as well as statutory and voluntary agencies.

It is a specialist education support service which seeks to help children and their families get the best out of their time with us at Sunshine Academy, and to encourage good attendance and punctuality on a regular basis.

Our Attendance Officer will be in school regularly to help monitor school attendance, meet with children, and families and support the process and procedures of attendance.

To contact our Trust Attendance Officer, please call the Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust on 01922 211349 or email attendance@lighthousefederation.com