Attendance

Attendance and punctuality are essential to ensuring that your child gets the most out of their time at school. They are also important life skills that your child will need as they become young adults and enter the world of work.

As a school we are working hard to achieve our overall attendance target this year of 96% working with our parents to ensure that each child attends school regularly and on time.

Parents are required to report their child’s absence by leaving a message on the school absence line by telephoning the attendance office on 01702 440071 by 08.40am on each and every day of absence.

In addition to daily phone messages, all absences must be followed up by a letter from parent/carer to the Attendance Officer, on the child’s return to school to confirm the reason for absence. There is a section in the student planner for this to be recorded.

Medical Evidence

Parents should notify the school on the first day your child is unable to attend due to illness. Cecil Jones Academy will authorise absences due to illness unless we have genuine cause for concern about the veracity of an illness. If the authenticity of the illness is in doubt, then Cecil Jones Academy can request parents to provide medical evidence, such as a Doctor's note, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate forms of evidence, to support an illness. 

More information regarding this can be found in the Attendance and Punctuality Policy.

Attendance and Punctuality Policy

Medical appointments
The school encourages parents to make medical appointments including dental, GP, hospital appointments, where possible, out of school hours. Where this is not possible, students should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment and ensure that they return to school after.

Students should always return to school immediately after their appointment unless they are unwell or in pain from treatment, in which case parents are required to leave a message on the absence line as soon as possible after the appointment to explain the reason for non-return to school as well as sending in a letter addressed to the Attendance Officer, on the child’s return.

Missing registration for a medical or dental appointment is counted as an authorised absence as long as it is supported by an appointment card/letter. However, students should always attend morning registration first where possible and then sign out for their appointment unless there is insufficient time to do so.

If your child needs to leave school during the school day to attend a medical appointment, please ensure that he/she brings a letter from you stating what time you wish your child to leave school together with the appointment card/slip/letter which should state the time and venue of the appointment.

Leave of absence
All requests for Leave of Absence, including attending auditions, peripatetic music exams, sporting activities/competitions, family funerals etc., should be addressed to the Head Teacher and submitted in advance via the Attendance Officer. All requests must be accompanied by written evidence to support the request. Please ensure that the letter of request states the time of the event as well as the time you are requesting your child to leave school if appropriate as well as the venue/place of the event if appropriate.

Holidays during term time will not be authorised unless there are the most exceptional of circumstances to consider and if taken parents will receive a penalty notice fine.

Please note that penalty notice fines are issued to each parent and for each child.

APPLICATION FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Southend on sea City Councils Code of Conduct

Punctuality

What being late really means

It is important for your child to arrive on time at school as lateness means they miss out on valuable learning and disrupt the learning of others.
Any student arriving late to school, after the bell has rung for morning registration, will receive a break and lunch detention.  If this happens more than twice a week an additional after school detention will be issued.

Attendance leave policy