Attendance
At Queen’s Park Academy we firmly believe that regular school attendance is essential for the educational progress and overall wellbeing of our pupils.
The importance of regular attendance at school cannot be stressed enough. We will promote school attendance and provide support when a child is struggling to attend school. This may mean that we raise the issue of attendance even if your child has only had a couple of days off ill. This is not because we don’t believe you. By working with you, the school can step in early to help to prevent patterns of absence developing. We may identify other underlying issues that are making your child reluctant to attend school and be able to help you and your child. For this to be successful we would ask you to support and work with the school. Our school's attendance team is here to provide support and guidance to pupils and families in such situations. If you encounter any difficulties related to attendance, please do reach out to Mrs Clare, Attendance Officer or Mrs Simmons, Principal.
In light of recent legislation, Queen’s Park Academy as a rule is unable to support family holidays in school time. In exceptional circumstances the Academy may be able to grant permission.
How to report Absences
In the event of an unplanned absence, we ask that you follow these steps:
- Contact the school: on the day of the absence, please call the school office before 8.45am to inform us about your child's absence or via the school email address
- Provide a reason for absence: please provide a brief explanation for the absence, such as illness or family emergency, to help us maintain accurate records
If this is a planned absence, please email the school or complete an application for leave in term time, which can be found in the Attendance Policy in the document zone.
Fast Track Prosecution:
Attendance at school is a legal requirement and as a parent/carer it is your duty to ensure regular attendance at school for your child/ren. As an Academy we work hard to support parents/carers but have a duty to report matters of poor school attendance to BCP Council at regular intervals.
Under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act parents/carers may be fined up to £2,500 per parent/carer per child for failure to ensure regular school attendance.
In September 2004 the Government have requested adoption of a fast track process where parents/carers will receive a court hearing within a 12 week period from referral to BCP Council. This Academy has been operating such a system since January 2005. We would be grateful therefore if you could contact us to discuss any issues which may prevent school attendance at the earliest opportunity.
Penalty Notices:
To provide consistency, the Government have introduced a new national framework for schools and Local Authorities. All schools are now required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 sessions (5 school days) for unauthorised reasons.
Fines are issued by the Local Authority and with effect from August 2024, the fine for school absences for each parent will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.
In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.
Fines per parent will be capped at two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.
Penalty Notices will be issued by BCP Council and can only be issued in cases of unauthorised absence. The issuing of a penalty notice is considered appropriate in the following circumstances:
- Regular overt truancy
- Parentally condoned absences
- Excessive delayed return from extended holidays without prior Academy agreement
- Persistent late arrival at school