Moments Matter, Attendance Counts

We know from both our own experience and extensive research nationally, that having excellent attendance in school is key for attaining excellent results. Pupils who attend school regularly on average also feel better connected, develop superior social skills and have higher self-esteem and confidence. 

We work in tandem with Birmingham City Council and their ‘Support First’ school attendance framework. It is the legal duty of a parent or guardian to ensure that their child goes to school every day and if that is not the case, we will be in touch to ask why. We expect attendance to be above 97% and days off should only be taken when absolutely essential. Any regular medical appointments should be booked outside of the school day. 

Every single day matters when it comes to school attendance, and we really appreciate your support. If there are any barriers to attendance which you have not yet shared with school, then please get in touch and speak with a member of the pastoral team. Do not worry if you aren’t sure who to speak to, just pick up the phone or send an e-mail and our team will ensure your message gets to the right person.  No child should be left behind if we are to achieve our vision to ‘empower children with virtues, to enable them to excel academically and spiritually’ and we are here to help.  

Attendance and Absence Data

There is nothing more powerful than seeing the impact of time missed from school. The tables below equate percentage attendance to the number of lessons missed. 

Attendance over one whole school year for each pupil

Attendance over 5 years for each pupil

Attendance monitoring and intervention 

Attendance is one of the most significant factors in ensuring a child makes the progress they are capable of. At Nishkam High School Birmingham we have rigorous systems in place to track and monitor attendance.  

We use an ‘Attendance Risk register’ that monitors attendance in the following categories: 

Persistent Absence (PA) 

• According to the Department for Education guidelines, a pupil will be considered as a persistent absentee if their attendance is 90% or lower (i.e., 10% or more sessions are missed). This is a significant concern. 

• Any pupil who is at the persistent absence threshold or at risk of moving towards that threshold is placed on the Attendance Risk Register and given priority for intervention. If following this intervention, a child’s attendance continues to decline, you will be referred to Birmingham’s Education and Legal Intervention Team (ELIT) and it is likely this will result in a penalty notice being issued as outlined in the National Penalty Notice Framework. 

Attendance Celebrations 

The school invests in a wide range of rewards for good attendance. Please see an example of this below:

Leave in Term Time and Penalty Notices 

It is the responsibility of parents and carers to ensure that any holidays taken are booked in school holidays. Whilst we understand prices change, if you take unauthorised leave during term time, it is our duty to report this absence to the local authority as failure to ensure children attend school regularly is a criminal offence. 

If you feel there are exceptional circumstances why your child needs to be absent from school, you should apply, in advance, by writing to the Co-Principal explaining clearly the dates and reasons you are requesting leave of absence. 

If the school refuses a request for leave of absence and the child is still taken out of school this will be recorded as unauthorised absence and noted in the child’s record. This will be reported to the Local Authority. 

The Local Authority may issue a penalty notice for the period of absence. 

Please note: all absences on the last days of term will be unauthorised unless we have medical evidence. This will count towards the fining process.  

Should a child take term time leave and fail to return to school following a period of leave, the school may, with the agreement of the LA, and following all statutory checks, delete the pupil from roll. 

As a school, we will have written to you if your child has taken an unauthorised leave of absence in term time. For ongoing unauthorised absence, we will have tried to offer support via ‘Support First’. Following this referral, the Local Authority will then be in touch with you, with the likely outcome being a Penalty Notice. Details of the procedures in Birmingham are listed below: 

A penalty notice gives you the opportunity to discharge the offence without going to court and receiving a criminal record if found guilty. 

In law, both parents/carers are responsible for ensuring a child attends school regularly, so both parents/carers are issued penalty notices, and each has to pay their own notice(s). 

If the £80 payment is not received within 21 days, it rises to £160 for a further 7 days. 

Reminders to pay are not sent. 

The National Penalty Notice Framework states that if this is the second time in 3 years you have been issued with a penalty notice, the discount of £80 will not be available to you and you must pay £160 within 28 days. 

If payment is still not received, the local authority will withdraw the penalty notice and a case will be prepared for court for the original offence under Section 444 (1) of the 1996 Education Act. 

For a second offence within a three-year period the discount does not apply and the cost is £160. 

A third offence may mean the case is referred directly to court. If found guilty, parents/carers: 

• Can be fined up to £1000
• Can be ordered to pay local authority and a victim surcharge 
• Would receive a criminal record