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Attendance Matters!
Norham High School expects all pupils to attend regularly and arrive to school and lessons on time, in order to take full advantage and access the full-time educational opportunities they are entitled to. The expectation is that parents/carers will ensure that their child or young person arrives at school on time every day and supports the school policies and procedures regarding attendance and punctuality.
Mrs Elaine Latimer
Education Welfare Officer
07503791298
Miss Emma Vaughan
Guidance & Support Assisstant, Attendance and RESET
07407249749
Attendance Reminders
If you have any questions, please don't hesistate to contact Mrs Latimer our Education Welfare Officer.
Registration
Pupils must be in school by the first bell at 8.25am. Any pupil that arrived after 8.25am is considered to be late.
Between 8.25-8.40am, form tutors will complete morning registers.
Class teachers will complete registers during Periods 1,2,3,4 & 5
The school gates close at 8.25am.
· Parents/carers should always telephone school to explain reasons for lateness.
The school operates a “First Day Response System” which means that parents are contacted on the first morning of an unreported absence.
Absence notes and medical evidence/information should be delivered directly to our Education Welfare Officer.
Our Guidance & Support Team is responsible for monitoring lateness and sanctions for lateness.
What happens if you are late for school?
If you arrive at school late, after 8.25am, you must enter school via main reception. All pupils who are late twice in 5 school day period, without a reason being provided by a parent/carer will be issued with a 1 hour Head Teacher detention on a Monday after school.
If lateness continues, parents will be invited into school for a formal meeting with the Education Welfare Officer and Guidance Leader to discuss the matter further. This will be a supportive meeting to help unpick why the pupil is arriving late to school. Support, guidance and advice will be shared at this meeting.
If after the first meeting lateness persists, parents will be invited into school for a formal meeting which will involve the Guidance Manager and Guidance Support Officer. A member of the Local Authority and Governing Body will also be invited to discuss the seriousness of the matter and explore the more formal actions which could be taken e.g. fines for persistent lateness.
Term Time Holidays/Leave of Absence
As a parent/carer, you can demonstrate your commitment to your child’s education by not allowing your child to miss school for anything other than an exceptional and unavoidable reason.
Parents are required under the Education Act (1996) to ensure their child attends school regularly. There is no automatic right to take a child out of school during term time, but the law allows Head teachers to consider individual requests to authorise a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.
The Headteacher must be satisfied that the exceptional circumstances justify an authorised absence, and it is entirely the responsibility of the parent submitting the request to provide enough information and evidence in order to establish this fact.
The request for an authorised leave of absence must be made in advance and the Headteacher may invite the parent/carer into school to discuss the request before a decision is made.
If the circumstances relating to this request are considered exceptional and the absence is authorised by the Head teacher, the expectation is that child’s attendance will be of a satisfactory level both prior to and after the date covered by the request.
If the request for a leave of absence is refused and the absence is recorded as unauthorised, the Head teacher may refer the matter to the Local Authority requesting a Penalty Notice be issued against you.
Under the new National Framework for Penalty Notices issued by the DfE, the following changes came into force for School Penalty Notice Fines issued after 19th August 2024:
First offence: The first penalty notice issued for unauthorised absence is a fine of £80 if paid within 21 days of receipt, rising to £160 if the notice is paid after 21 days but within 28 days.
Second Offence: If a second penalty notice is issued within a 3-year period for unauthorised absence, then the fine is a flat rate of £160 paid within 28 days.
Third Offence: The third time an offence is committed a penalty notice will not be issued, and the case will be presented straight to the Magistrate’s Court.
Prosecution can result in Criminal record and fines of up to £2,500
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