Attendance and Leave of Absence

Frederick Bird Academy > Key Information > Attendance and Leave of Absence

Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure their child attends school regularly and on time each day.

We expect children to have excellent attendance and we do appreciate that there may be rare occasions for your child to be absent from school, however national and local data shows that there is a direct link between excellent attendance and achievement and so attendance will remain a priority at our school.

Government Guidance

Please read our attendance policy which can be found in the policy section of our website:

Parents/ Carers are expected to:

  • Ensure that their child attends school regularly, punctually and ready to learn. 
  • Inform the school of the reason for any absence by phone call/ Study Bugs on the first morning and each day, of any absence, and in advance if possible.
  • Avoid making medical appointments during school hours whenever possible. This includes opticians, dentists, doctors and orthodontist appointments. On the rare occasions when an appointment in school hours is unavoidable, parents/carers will make arrangements to collect their child from school and return them to school as soon as possible.
  • Not arrange family holidays or visits during term time. 
  • Only request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and will be made at least two weeks in advance using the form available from the school office

Children are expected to:

  • Attend school on time every day
  • Attend every lesson on time each day
  • If arriving after the start of the school day, arrive with their parent/ carer to sign in at the main school reception, giving a reason for lateness

Schools are expected to:

  • Have a clear school attendance policy on the school website which all staff, children and parents understand.
  • Develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of good attendance. 
  • Accurately complete admission and attendance registers. 
  • Have robust daily processes to follow up absence. 
  • Have a dedicated Senior Leader with overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance. 

Useful Links

Is my child too ill for school?

Anxiety in children

How long should I keep my child off school?

Early Help | Coventry City Council

Coventry Families

Studybugs

Attendance is one of the priorities we want to improve at Arley, we know from research how time missed
from school can impact the learning outcomes and at Arley we want to help the children to achieve their
potential in all areas. So with your help we are asking you all to download the Studybugs app, any absence MUST be reported through this app. You can download the app from the apple store or google play. The app is easy to use and will also offer guidance from the NHS as to whether the illness you report requires your child to be off school. The app will also automatically message you if we have not received notification of your child’s illness at
school by 10am.

We look forward to your co-operation in using this new method of communication for reporting your child’s absence. We also want to reassure you that all the data shared on the app will be kept secure and confidential between the app and the school.