Attendance/Absence
It is vitally important that we know where all our children are at all times.
If your child is absent from school we require you to notify us by 8.30am on the first day of their absence and each day of their absence thereafter. You can do this by calling 07999 116294 and speak to our attendance officer, Isma. A voicemail can be left 24 hours/day. You should give your child’s name, class teacher, the reason for the absence and how long you expect the absence to last.
If we do not have a reason for your child’s absence each day we will call you to obtain a reason. Should we be unable to contact you, we will call the emergency contact numbers that you gave us during the admissions process in order to try to gain a reason for your child’s absence.
Given the vulnerabilities of our children, and following learning from national Serious Case Reviews, where we have been unable to obtain a reason for your child’s absence by midday we will conduct a home-visit to check on yours and your child’s welfare.
If, following all of the above, we have still been unable to obtain a reason for your child’s absence we will seek the advice and support of partner agencies including West Yorkshire Police, the Bradford Education Safeguarding Team and Children’s Social Care.
Academy Day
The school day starts for students at 8.50am and finishes at 3.00pm.
Lunch is staggered between 12:00 am -13:00 pm.
Appointments
We know that students sometimes have medical appointments in school time. Where this is the case, please do let us know ahead of time where possible.
We will need to see evidence of the appointment too so that we can record things in the right way.
If possible, please book routine appointments for earlier in the day or later in the day/after school, so that your student can be in school after the appointment or before the appointment.
Arrivals
Where parents are transporting students, the pedestrian gate on Haycliffe Lane (opposite our sixth form building) is open for drop off between 8.45am and 9:00am. The school day ends at 3:00pm, and it is important that if you are collecting your child from school, you do so on time.
On the rare occasion when your child arrives later than 9:00 am, please come to the main campus reception where a member of staff will be requested to come and collect your child.
Extended leave/holiday in term time
Headteachers are only allowed to authorise holidays during term time under exceptional circumstances. Cost or convenience are not considered exceptional circumstances.
Any applications for this exceptional leave must be submitted to the Headteacher, using this form, prior to any holidays being taken.
From September 2024, you will also be invited to come into school for a meeting to discuss any holidays taken in term time or term-time leave requests. Our attendance policy can be found here.
You can check our term dates here.
Holiday or leave taken that isn’t approved could result in a fine from the Council.
Updating your contact details
It’s really important that we have up to date contact details, i.e. emergency contact phone numbers and address for every student. If you’ve moved house, or changed your phone number, please let reception know so that our system can be updated.
You’ll also have noticed that we send more information by text than by letter now – please make sure we have a mobile number for you, if you have one.
Conduct
The safety of our staff is very important to us. All our staff have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment. Verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, aggression, racial or sexual abuse, discrimination or physical assault will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
We do not tolerate violence and aggression towards our staff, in person or by telephone. We will treat you with courtesy and respect, and in return our staff expect the same. We may take action against anyone who behaves in a violent or aggressive manner.