At The Morley Academy, we are passionate about ensuring students are ‘Exceptional Every day.’ A key driver to such success is attending school: not only for academic progress, but also for additional opportunities such as attendance to Enrichment++ activities, socialisation with peers and access to our wealth of rewards.

Research proves that there is a very clear relationship between excellent school attendance and academic achievement. Year after year, the students with the best school attendance achieve the best results ultimately leading to increased Post-16 opportunities. We are passionate about providing students with the best possible life chances securing the ‘Gift of Choice’ and as such firmly believe that students have to ‘be here to get there.’

Parents, carers and families are therefore asked to ensure that their young person is in school every day of term.

The law states that students can miss school if they are:

Too unwell to attend school* or if there is a significant circumstance such as a family bereavement.
Authorised to miss school in advance by the Principal (such as a religious observance including attending the wedding of a family member, funeral or competitive sporting event).
Please click the link below to access the official government guidance: Is my child too ill for school?

* Schools may ask for medical evidence to authorise extended periods of absence or when attendance is below 97%.

Exceptional Leave Form

The Link between Attendance and Achievement is Clear

The table below details the number of days and lessons of invaluable learning opportunities missed over a year with attendance at different levels.

All students at The Morley Academy are set an attendance target of 97% or above.

Attendance Process

If your child is absent from the academy, you must telephone the Attendance Line 0113 253 2952 on the first day of absence before 8.00am and provide a reason.

Please be aware that The Morley Academy works closely with Leeds City Council and will transfer any cases of persistently poor attendance for possible prosecution in either the Family or Magistrates Court.

If we do not receive communication, you will receive a phone call home from one of our team of dedicated Attendance Officers.
A home visit may be made depending on the student’s attendance record and the nature of the absence.
On returning to the Academy the student must take responsibility to catch up on work missed.

Home visits will be conducted by members of the Attendance Team if a student has had three days of consecutive illness in accordance with our safeguarding policy. Home visits may also be carried out on a student’s first day of absence if their attendance is of concern. The purpose of making home visits is to have a conversation with families about their young person’s attendance, complete a safeguarding check and offer support where applicable.

Punctuality

The academy expects that all students arrive in to school on time by 8.20am in order to be at their forms ready to begin the school day by 8.30am.

Any student arriving late will receive, in the first instance, a warning and the importance of punctuality will be discussed with a Senior Leader and an Attendance Officer. For each instance thereafter, students will receive a negative comment and the Positive Discipline policy will be followed.

If a student arrives to school after 9.00am this will be marked as an unauthorised absence meaning that your child will not receive their morning attendance mark.

We would be grateful for your support in ensuring that your child arrives on time. Arriving late for school does not set them on the correct path for the day ahead and means that they miss vital messages and learning opportunities.

Holidays In Term Time

The Morley Academy will very rarely authorise a holiday during term time.

As an academy we recognise that financial pressures and work commitments sometimes make it difficult to take holidays outside of school time. However, we ask for your full support in ensuring that your child is in school all the time to access an outstanding education.

If you choose to take an unauthorised leave of absence the case will be transferred to Leeds City Council to process a penalty fine.

The world is run by those who turn up

Days attended per week	Attendance %	Amount of time missed per year
School every day	100%	–
4½ days	90%	4 weeks
4 days	80%	More than half a term
3½ days	70%	More than a quarter of the school year
An average attendance of 80% or less across a child’s school career adds up to missing a whole 2 years from school. Being late for school reduces learning time. If your child is 5 minutes late every day they will miss three days of learning each year. If your child is 15 minutes late every day they will miss 2 weeks of learning each year.

The 100% Attendance Club

Maintaining an attendance record of 100% is a brilliant achievement and one that we are delighted to reward and celebrate. Students who achieve 100% attendance will be given a much-deserved place in the 100% Attendance Club. Membership of the club entitles students to a range of rewards, including celebration activities held twice per year.

Students who maintain attendance above 97% will be able to access some of the same rewards given to those in the 100% Attendance Club. The Attendance Team may, when appropriate, also provide incentives and rewards specifically targeted to individuals or groups where it is seen fit.

We are mindful, however, that absences may occur and therefore reward students every two weeks for having a 100% attendance record over the course of two-week period. This allows for a significant proportion of our students to be rewarded on a regular basis and acts as an additional motivator for those who are outside the ‘100% Club’ to still be rewarded and celebrated for their attendance.

Exceptional Circumstances

We recognise 100% Attendance as being a huge achievement and one that needs significant reward and celebration! Therefore, only students with 100% Attendance will be granted access to the club. The 100% attendance club is a reward for those students who show resilience and excellent attitudes to school. We do, however, recognise that in some cases, absence from school is unavoidable. Examples include students being absent from school:

to mark a religious observance including attending the wedding of a family member.
to attend a specialist medical appointment related to a lifelong medical condition.
to grieve for, and attend a funeral of an immediate family member.

In all cases where a parent / carer is seeking an exception to be made, the Principal must authorise this. Please complete an ‘Exceptional Circumstances form’ and return to the academy by email or post.

100% Attendance Club – Exceptional Leave Form