Here at Norbridge Academy we aim to give your children the very best education possible, so please don’t let your child miss out by poor attendance and lateness.
It is essential that your child attends school on time every day.
School has a statutory duty to keep your child safe which includes knowing where they are if they are not in school. We appreciate that children are sometimes genuinely ill. If your child is going to be absent due to illness, please inform the office by 8:40am on every day of absence.
If you do not contact the office, school will ring you followed by every contact number we hold for your child until we speak to somebody. If your child is absent for two consecutive days and we are unable to contact anybody, we will visit the family home in order to ensure that your child/ children are safe and well. If we are still unable to contact a named contact then we may call 101 in order to seek the police’s assistance in locating the family.
Norbridge Primary Academy – Family Liaison & Attendance Officer: Mrs S Townsend – TownsendS@NorbridgeAcademy.org.uk
Our target for attendance is 96%.
Norbridge Primary Academy updates the Attendance Policy annually. You can find this here:
Attendance Letters
Understanding types of absence:
Every half-day absence from school will be categorised as either authorised or unauthorised, which is why information about the cause of absence is always required.
Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason like illness, medical/dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time (evidence required), emergencies or other unavoidable cause. The attendance officer will look at each reason for absence, however the final decision will rest with the head teacher.
Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no leave has been given. This includes:
- Parents/carers keeping children off school unnecessarily.
- Absences with no explanation.
- Children who arrive at school late (after 9.15am).
- Shopping, looking after other children or birthdays.
- Day trips and holidays in term time which have not been agreed.
Absence procedures – Parental responsibility:
- Inform the school office on the first day of absence (phone 01909 472322, e-mail absences@norbridgeacademy.org.uk or call in person to the office) indicating the reason for absence and the expected return date.
- If child is unable to return on expected date, parents to inform school office.
- Provide copies of medical appointment letters or cards.
If absences become a concern:
- Initial issues are raised by phone call or letters to parents/carer.
- If absences persist parent/carer is invited in to discuss support with the Attendance Officer – Mrs Townsend.
- If this fails to achieve required improvements then the matter is referred to the Education Enforcement Department at Nottinghamshire County Council.
Holidays:
- Holidays are not permitted during term-time.
- Any period of leave taken without the agreement of the school will be classed as unauthorised and may attract sanctions such as a Fixed Penalty Notice.
- If you require a period of leave for your child please submit this request by completing a ‘Leave of Absence’ form and return to the school office as soon as possible prior to the leave. The form can be downloaded below.
Why punctuality is so important:
- Children that arrive late are likely to have missed the start of the lesson which makes it more difficult for them to learn as the lesson progresses.
- Late arrivals distract classmates and interrupt the teacher’s lesson.
- Children that arrive late are likely to feel unsettled and are embarrassed to walk into class once it has started.
- Children that arrive late are developing bad habits. It sets up your child for the future; whether at primary school, secondary school, college or work. They could lose their place or job if they think it is acceptable to be late.
Classroom doors open at 8.40, register taken at 8.45am and lessons begin at 8.50. The register is taken twice a day; once at the start of the morning session and once at the start of the afternoon session. Children will receive a late mark if they are not in class by 8.45am. The register officially closes at 9.15am, after which time pupils arriving without good reason will be marked as U which counts as a legal absence.
For any pupils where punctuality continues to be a problem, parents/carers will receive a letter or could be invited into school to meet with Mrs Townsend.
Illness Advice
Leave of Absence Form
Attendance Champions
We have identified several children that could be great candidates for a new role in school – Attendance Champions. The selected children will actively support staff members to showcase attendance, participate in attendance assemblies, deliver rewards and raise the profile of attendance across the school community.
KS2 Attendance Champions
F2 & KS1 Attendance Champions
Rewards
Strategies for rewarding/promoting excellent attendance:
Aims:
- To ensure good attendance and punctuality is regularly promoted and supported and remains high profile across the school.
- To achieve high levels of attendance and punctuality through rewarding good attendance and punctuality.
Weekly Class Trophy Award
Each week the attendance officer will analyse school attendance and award the best class with a trophy and certificate. The trophy will stay in the classroom all week for parents/carers to view. This promotes healthy competition between classes in the school and keeps the profile of attendance high.
This award will also be communicated via the school website and class Twitter accounts.
Norbridge Award
This reward applies to all classes and will be awarded each day a class achieves 100%. For this achievement the class will earn a letter from NORBRIDGE. When the whole name is spelt out the (each day the class achieves 100%) class earns £5 which can be spent straight away or can be saved and spent together with any other achievements of £5.
School Newsletter
Details of attendance data, celebrations, rewards and incentives will be consistent and continuous in the newsletter throughout the school year.
School Attendance Display Board
The board includes attendance information and information about the best class weekly attenders and half termly attenders. It will also include details of pupils throughout the school who have achieved 100% attendance, improved attendance and weekly bingo awards.
The School Learning Environment
A welcoming, organised learning environment that supports and celebrates its learners is a key factor in ensuring children enjoy school and attend regularly. All staff ensure that their learning environments are of high quality. Regular, rigorous environmental audits are carried out by the SLT, to ensure this.
Staff Promoting Good Attendance
It is important that teachers are regularly promoting good attendance with their classes. Good class attendance is attributed to good teaching, and this is celebrated.
Attendance Bingo – Foundation Stage & KS1 Children
All children in the above key stages will have a bingo ball. All balls stay in a bag until an absence occurs, only then will they be removed. The attendance officer will then do a weekly draw of one ball from the bag. Children gaining a weekly 100% and have their ball drawn will win a prize and certificate.
Attendance Disco’s/Movie Nights
All children achieving 100% attendance each term will be invited to either a disco or movie night. Children will also receive a certificate.
End of Year Celebration Assembly
Children receiving 100% attendance for the whole year are eligible to receive the prestigious 100% attendance award. Children will receive a certificate, a £5 Amazon voucher, a cinema trip and a trophy. Children will also be entered into a prize draw to win either a bike or a family day out.
The class with the best overall annual attendance will be awarded with a cinema trip, a trophy and a certificate.
Various other attendance awards will be presented at the assembly to celebrate improved attendance and punctuality.
Good Luck!
Whole School Class Attendance
Eric Carle Class (F1) – 89.9%
Jill Murphy Class (F2A) – 96.7%
Judith Kerr Class (F2EK) – 85.3%
Julia Donaldson Class (Y1W) – 92.3%
Mini Grey Class (Y1J) – 97.3%
David Litchfield Class (Y2S) – 86.7%
Oliver Jeffers Class (Y2G) – 95.9%
Roald Dahl Class (Y3W/S) – 91.6%
Michael Morpurgo Class (Y3G) – 97.8%
Joshua Seigal Class (Y4W) – 93.1%
Clive King Class (Y4K) – 94.7%
Lemony Snicket Class (Y5L) – 92.8%
Beverley Naidoo Class (Y5M) – 96.4%
Sinead O’Hart Class (Y6B) – 96.8%
J.R.R. Tolkien Class (Y6M) – 93.6%
Whole School Attendance – 93.6%
Annual Attendance League Table (last updated – 9.4.25)
| Class | Attendance % |
| Michael Morpurgo | 97.1% |
| J.R.R. Tolkein | 96.5% |
| Sinead O’Hart | 96.1% |
| Mini-Grey | 95.6% |
| Joshua Seigal | 95.5% |
| Roald Dahl | 95.4% |
| Beverley Naidoo | 95.3% |
| David Litchfield | 95.2% |
| Julia Donaldson | 95% |
| Oliver Jeffers | 94.8% |
| Jill Murphy | 94.6% |
| Lemony Snicket | 94.3% |
| Judith Kerr | 92.1% |
| Clive King | 91.9% |
Improved Attenders Spring 2 2025
Improved Attenders Spring 1 2025
Best Class – Spring 2 2025 (24.2.25 – 4.4.25)
Michael Morpurgo – 99.1%
Best Class – Spring 1 2025 (6.1.25 – 14.2.25)
J.R.R. Tolkein Class – 97.7%
Best Class – Autumn 2 2024 (4.11.24 – 20.12.24)
J.R.R. Tolkein Class – 97.3%
Best Class – Autumn 1 2024 (3.9.24 – 18.10.24)
David Litchfield Class – 97.2%
