Fortis Academy's individual target for attendance is 100% Government minimum expectations for attendance is 95%.
The school expects all our pupils to attend, on time, and all day every day, achieving 100% attendance. Should you child’s attendance drop to 95% attendance in ONE SCHOOL YEAR ALONE your child will miss 9 school days and at least 45 hours worth of lessons. Recent research shows there is a positive correlation between attendance and achievement so 95% equates to dropping at least half a GCSE grade. 90% attendance equates to 19 days lost, at least 95 hours worth of lessons and a drop by at least one whole GCSE grade.
Please keep checking regularly on Go4Schools on which their current attendance is shown . If your child has medical appointments try, whenever possible to attend mid morning clinics so your child can attend the am reg and then return to school and gain their afternoon mark, therefore not affecting their attendance.
Attendance at Fortis Academy is lead by Mrs S Williams - Assistant Headteacher - Attendance Champion (Saroj.Williams@fortis.set.org)
Use the diagram below to track the impact of your child's absence to school.
At Fortis Academy, our attendance approach is fundamentally guided by the Inclusive Attendance model. Our attendance philosophy is rooted in a recognition-based approach that recognises both personal and collective achievements. This approach serves to thwart isolation, prevent victimisation, cultivate positive environments, nurture relationships, foster inclusivity, and ultimately cultivate intrinsic motivation among our children, families, and staff.
The Importance of School Attendance
Academic Achievement: Regular attendance directly correlates with academic success. Children who attend school consistently are more likely to keep up with the curriculum, perform better in exams, and improve their life outcomes.
Knowledge Acquisition: School is where children acquire knowledge and skills that are crucial for their personal and professional growth. Missing days means missing out on valuable learning opportunities.
Social Development: School provides a vital social environment for children and adolescents to interact with peers, develop friendships, and learn essential social skills.
Building Routine: School attendance establishes a structured routine in children’s lives, teaching them time management and responsibility, which are valuable life skills.
Teacher Interaction: Regular attendance allows for meaningful teacher-child interactions. Teachers can provide personalised support.
Preventing Knowledge Gaps: Frequent absences can lead to significant knowledge gaps, making it challenging for children to catch up with missed lessons, potentially resulting in long-term academic struggles.
School Engagement: Children who attend school regularly are more likely to engage in extracurricular activities, sports, and other enriching experiences that contribute to their overall development and wellbeing of communities.
Legal and Parental Responsibility: Parents or guardians are legally responsible for ensuring their child's regular school attendance. Failing to do so can lead to legal consequences.
Universal Multi-Tiered System of Support
To guarantee a comprehensive approach to attendance, we implement a Multi-Tiered System of Support. A Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for school attendance involves three tiers of intervention, with roles for teachers, the school, children, parents, and external agencies – including the Local Authority.
Tier 1 - Universal Approach: Establishing a baseline universal attendance approach that benefits all children.
Tier 2 - Individualised Strategies and Early Help Support: Tailoring strategies to individual needs and providing early help support for persistent attendance challenges.
Tier 3 - Higher Needs Strategies Support: Furnishing specialised support for children, young people, and families with complex attendance requirements, including access to external agency support when necessary.
Recognition-Based Approach
Our attendance philosophy is rooted in a recognition-based approach that recognises both personal and collective achievements. This approach reduces isolation, prevents victimisation, cultivates positive environments, nurtures relationships, fosters inclusivity, and ultimately cultivates intrinsic motivation among our children, families, and staff.
To ensure my child’s attendance remains over 97%, I will: At Fortis Academy, we are committed to providing the best possible outcomes for all of our students. We also recognise that much has changed in our school community as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. We must collaborate to achieve this. You play a critical part in your child's success. Children need to be in school now more than ever. The first step towards academic success is to develop good attendance habits. At all ages, student attendance is crucial to academic success. We are committed to collaborating with all of our families to ensure that students can strive for excellent attendance. If you are aware of any circumstance that is affecting your child's capacity or willingness to attend school, please contact their Form Tutor or Head of Year as soon as possible to discuss how we can support your child in school. REPORTING ABSENCE It is required that contact is made with school every day that a child is absent unless otherwise arranged with the Attendance Officer. We ask please that contact is made with the school before 08.30, where possible. Please telephone call to the school on 0121 366 6611 and select the option for reporting an absence. PLANNED ABSENCE Any absences which are known about in advance, such as doctor’s appointments, are sent in writing to the schools Attendance Hub. Please attach a copy of the paperwork for the appointment as soon as possible (such as hospital letter or appointment card). Please also clearly state what time your child will need to be signed out of school. All students must be collected and must sign out of school at reception before leaving. UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE The following reasons for non-attendance will not be authorised, unless they are being investigated by your doctor: MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS Unfortunately, even if absent for a medical appointment, a student is still classed as absent from school. This is beyond the school’s control. Please make appointments outside school hours where possible. If this is not possible, we recommend students attend school before and/or after the appointment, even if only briefly, before being signed out. This ensures that the impact on a child’s learning is minimal, and their attendance will not be negatively impacted. SCHOOL-RELATED ANXIETY If your child is suffering with school-related anxiety that is impacting their ability or willingness to attend, then please speak to the school. There is support we can offer to help with this. However, the most effective support to help understand and overcome school anxiety starts at home. There are many resources available online to support you with this – we recommend the YoungMinds parent guide as a starting point for information and guidance for supporting your child. Here are a few tips to help you improve your child's attendance, and how to get some help if you need it. 1. Do they really need to be off? Use the NHS “Is my child too ill for school?” page to help with decisions over whether your child should be in school or not. Most common ailments are not a reason to be off school, just like they would not be a reason to be off work. Still not sure? Remember, if your child comes to school and their condition worsens, they can seek the help of first aid at reception and if needed we will contact you so you can come and collect them. Developing this “give it a go” method will help build your child’s resilience. 2. Talk to them about the importance of good attendance Help your child understand why going to school everyday matters. 3. Emphasise the importance of school Ensure your child knows that school is important to you. A few things you can do to show interest in their school attendance: 4. Track their attendance Create attendance goals with your child and track their progress in a notebook or calendar. Also, you can try giving them small rewards for not missing school. 5. Create a morning and bedtime routine MORNING ROUTINE Morning showers are a great way to help students wake up. Ensure that your child is having a nutritious breakfast. Fruit, toast and healthy cereals are perfect and will give your child the energy to get through to lunch. BEDTIME ROUTINE Make attendance a priority by giving your children regular bedtimes and good routines, such as no phones 30 minutes before bed, reading before bed etc. Remember 11-16 year olds need 8-10 hours sleep a night. Also remember to pack school bags the night before so they're not rushing around in the morning before school. 6. The importance of punctuality Ensure your child gets to school on time every day. Arriving late can be embarrassing for students and disrupts their learning. They will also miss key announcements that are given out during morning form time. 7. Develop a back-up plan for getting to school Develop a backup plan for ensuring that your child gets to school if they miss a bus, a friend who usually gives them a lift can't make it that day, etc. 8. Communication is key - don't be afraid to ask for help Reach out to the school for assistance and support. Your child’s form Tutor, Head of Year, pastoral team, and other professionals are all available to help you. All you have to do is ask. Recruit your child’s Form Tutor as a partner. Teachers may have insights into why your child may be missing school or why they don’t want to attend school. Form Tutors are always there to help! 9. Medical appointments Make appointments for the dentist or doctor after school hours or in school holidays where possible, and make sure children return to school before and / or after an appointment if it must be in school time. I phoned to tell you they were ill, why has their attendance still gone down? Even if an absence is categorised as authorised it is still a session of schooling missed and will negatively impact a students’ overall attendance percentage. What is the difference between an authorised and unauthorised absence? Where a pupil is absent due to sickness and is genuinely unable to attend school, then the school, after being informed, may authorise a child's absence. It is important that you e-mail or phone the school as early as possible, if your child is going to be absent at the start of the day. You will receive a text message from the Attendance Officer if you do not inform us, as it is our duty to ensure your child is safe. If the school is not provided with a suitable reason for absence, or the reason given is not sufficient, then it may be recorded as unauthorised. In cases where students have poor attendance (below 95%) the school may require additional evidence before authorising absences. What will happen if my child does not attend school? If your child does not attend school regularly (over 90%) the Local Authority can take action against you. This can be through a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine) or a summons to appear at Magistrates’ Court. How do I know if my child is too ill to attend school? Children can attend school with minor ailments (toothache, headache, stomach-ache, cold, sore throat, once a Lateral Flow test has been taken). Over the counter medicines can be given before school. School will contact you if they become too ill to stay in school. My child has contacted me and asked me to come and collect him/her. What do I do? As you are probably aware, students are not allowed to contact home to ask parents to come and collect them from school. They should always, in the first instance report to their Head of Year, who will decide whether a phone call home is the best course of action. If, however, your child does contact you from school, we would ask that you remind them of this procedure and be rest assured that we will contact you if necessary. However, we should remind you that if students do contact home directly and parents do come to school to collect, this absence would be classed as unauthorised and we would always try to see both the parent and student before they leave the school, so that we can discuss this with you.
If my child has previously had attendance difficulties:
