Attendance

We expect all our students to achieve excellent attendance at Holy Trinity Academy in order to make good progress and access all the opportunities we have to offer. The expectation is for a student to have 100% attendance.

If for any reason your child is ill and is unable to attend school, please telephone our Attendance Line (01952) 386102 before 8.45am on the day of the absence and every subsequent day of absence with details of the illness. There is a service to leave a message should the line be busy.

Lateness

Lesson 1 starts at 8.25am prompt. The student entrance gates are closed at 8.20am and any student arriving after this time should enter the school via the main entrance and report to reception, giving a reason for their lateness.

Students arriving after 8.25am, without evidence of a valid reason e.g. medical appointment, will receive a tick on their standards card. Three ticks on a standards card will result in an hours detention after school.

Appointments

All general dental, doctor and optician appointments should be made outside of the school day or in the school holidays. Orthodontist and hospital appointments that cannot be made outside of the school day will be authorised if supported by official evidence, e.g. letter, appointment card from the relevant orthodontist or hospital. We ask that your child takes the minimum amount of time off for these appointments, returning to school promptly and does not take the whole day off.

Leave in Term Time

Holiday and other requests for term leave are generally not approved by the Academy however a ‘Leave of Absence from School in Term Time’ form (available from reception) should be completed in advance and returned to school. The Headteacher will make a decision on whether the leave of absence is to be authorised. Parents will be informed of the decision in writing.

If the absence is not approved and the parents/carers still take the child out of school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised which may be subject to a Penalty Notice fine of £60 per child per parent. This fine would be increased to £120 if not paid within 21 days. Failure to pay the £120 within the period of 22 to 28 days may lead to court proceedings.

We have a full time Attendance Officer on the staff of HTA (Miss Hall) and also an Education Welfare Officer (Mrs Lyons) working within the school. Attendance is reviewed on a weekly basis. Any queries or information regarding attendance can be dealt with by them or a Pastoral Support Officer.