Attendance

At Lionheart School we aim to support all of our young people to ensure they access a broad and balanced curriculum that provides them with the best possible learning opportunities and experiences.

Excellent levels of attendance are critical to ensure positive outcomes for all students on academic, personal, social and emotional levels.

Lateness

It is very important to be punctual and to arrive at the school on time. A positive start to the day is conducive to a successful day. When students arrive between 9.00am and 9.30am, they will be marked as late. Arrival after 9.30am will result in a mark of unauthorised absence for the morning.

Medical appointments

Evidence needs to be provided to the Lionheart School Admin Staff so that these incidences can be authorised.  Where possible we respectfully request that appointments are made outside school hours.

Responding to non-attendance and the procedure for lateness

• If no note or telephone call is received from parents or carers, the Lionheart School Admin Staff will contact them via the details we have. If there is no response and the student is open to the Education Welfare Officer (EWS) or Social Care, these professionals will be contacted.
• If non-attendance continues or lateness is persistent, if the student is open to the EWS, the designated officer will be contacted for support and guidance. This may include home visits and/or a school attendance meeting.
• If a student is not open to the EWS, a referral may be made to their Enhanced Service and a school attendance meeting will be arranged.

Parental requests for holiday during term time

Lionheart School is part of the Isle of Wight local authority and therefore operates the same approach to this as Island mainstream settings. We respectfully request that no holidays are requested or taken during term time. A leave of absence can only be granted by the Head teacher in exceptional circumstances.

The application must be made in advance, in writing to the Head Teacher with reasons why the request satisfies ‘exceptional circumstances’. When holidays are taken that do not fall into this category, the absences will be recorded as unauthorised.

Healthier Together – should your child go to school today? Click the link to view/download NHS advice (opens in the new window).