Attendance

We want to do all we can to help our students maximise their life chances – encouraging good attendance is clearly a vital element in this respect, so staff at our academy work closely with students, parents and carers where we feel that attendance issues are creating barriers to learning.

Besides the benefits of learning important social skills, it seems to be common sense to us all that regular school attendance leads to the best educational outcomes for our children – the more they miss school, the less their chances of success.

To test this assumption more scientifically, we analysed some of our GCSE performance data alongside the corresponding year’s year 11 student attendance figures. The results are clear.

For each 4% drop in attendance rates:

  • our students’ chances of reaching five 9-4 grades, including English and maths, drops by 15%
  • our students’ total number of GCSEs attained at grades 9-4 drops by two
  • our students attain one grade lower in every subject, on average

Absence

The academy is not able to authorise absence for holidays. Absences for other reasons can only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. Requests for these absences must be made clearly, in writing, to the Executive Principal. Parents can email attendance@tuxford-ac.org.uk in the first instance, for clarification, if required.

Periods of unauthorised absence may lead to warning letters or penalty notices (fines) being issued by the local authority to the parents of each child concerned.

It is at the discretion of the academy as to whether or not an absence is marked as authorised or unauthorised, or to request a warning letter or penalty notice.

Parents are advised to check the school website for term dates before booking holidays as these differ from Nottinghamshire County Council’s dates.

Behaviour

Working in partnership with parents and students is at the heart of the way in which the academy operates. At Tuxford, we do our best to ensure that all students enjoy their time with us and learn well. We put a lot of effort into establishing the needs of students and supporting them on an individual basis.

Relationships between the academy and home can sometimes be tested when a student does not behave considerately or appropriately.  If a student’s behaviour falls short of our expectations, we need their parents’ trust and support, to ensure that we act together to show them how they are expected to behave.

By providing support structures, identifying unacceptable behaviours and by operating clear, appropriate and fair sanctions, we encourage positive behaviour. All Tuxford Academy parents are given access to information about their student, which enables them to access attendance, behaviour and progress data for their children.