Attendance

We are fully committed to supporting every student to ensure that they feel a true sense of belonging at school and want to attend every day. There is very strong evidence that students with a high level of attendance are likely to secure better educational outcomes and regular attendance is linked to a higher level of well-being (DfE). Where there are challenges, we have specialist support in place to support families and students.

To Report an Absence  

Parents/carers should inform the school by 8.15am if they know that their child will be absent on that day. This should be done by telephoning the school and leaving a message on the attendance line; 01727 799564 or by emailing the absence inbox; absence@sandringham.aetrust.uk. The student’s name, form and reason for their absence should be given. The school must receive a phone call or an email for every day of absence.

Registers are taken at 8:30 am (beginning of tutor time) and within the first 5 minutes of every lesson throughout the day. Registers close at 9:20am.

For students in the Sixth Form, late arrivals and absence should be emailed to: 6thformattendance@sandringham.aetrust.uk.

Key contacts:

School Attendance Lead - Kate Mouncey

Sixth Form Attendance Lead - Thom Leat

Attendance Officer (Years 7-11): Emily Kennedy

Attendance Officer (Years 12 & 13): Kelly Coombs 

Contact via: admin@sandringham.aetrust.uk

The Attendance Policy is a Trust level policy and can be found in the AET Trust Policies section on this website.

We have additional guidance for all day-to-day procedures at Sandringham School which can be found here:

Attendance Guidance 2026

Punctuality

Poor punctuality is not acceptable and can sometimes lead to irregular school attendance patterns. Good timekeeping is a vital life skill which will help children as they progress through their school life and out into the wider world. Students arriving during the registration period but after their names have been called will be marked as late.

Students arriving after 8.50am in the morning must sign in the designated signing in/out book located at Student Services. If a student arrives late to school without an acceptable explanation on two separate occasions, they will be issued with a C3 after school detention. 

Attendance Categories and Monitoring

The attendance of all students is monitored through a centralised tracking system. Students are placed in one of five attendance stages based on their cumulative attendance. The table below indicates the likely actions and support in place for students in each category:

A platform called ‘Attend’ is used to monitor and support attendance. Messages from the Attend app will appear separately from the main school communications. Each message will be tailored to the individual student and will often contain specific information such as the number of lessons missed in each subject. 

The school will send regular messages to all families through the Attend system to keep them fully updated about their child’s attendance throughout the year. This will include messages of congratulations where attendance is strong.

Support with Attendance

If a student is struggling to attend school for any reason, parents and carers should contact their form tutor in the first instance for support. If challenges remain, the Performance Director (PD) will be involved and a range of strategies can be employed. If you need to access support, please contact the school admin address or call reception detailing the name of the form tutor or PD.

Interventions to support the improvement of student attendance can be implemented at any time and can include: 

• Parent meetings with the Head of Year and Heads of Key Stage 
• Attendance Surgeries with the Local Authority Attendance Officer 
• Part time timetables 
• Counselling/Mentoring 
• Attendance Action Plans

Leave of Absence During Term Time

Schools must clearly distinguish between authorised and unauthorised absences of students of compulsory school age. The responsibility for authorising absences rests with the school. Written or verbal parental communication does not in itself constitute authorisation. Parents/carers must provide an explanation for all absences from school. The headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to a pupil during term time if they consider there to be 'exceptional circumstances'. In line with DfE guidance, we have to consider each application individually taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request. If a leave of absence is granted, it is for the headteacher to determine the length of the time the pupil can be away from school. It is very unlikely that a leave of absence will be granted for the purpose of a family holiday and therefore it is likely that a penalty fine will be issued.

To request such an absence, please download the Leave of Absence Form and once completed send it to Student Services.

Application Form for Authorised Student Absence 2026

 Emotional-Based School Non-Attendance 

Where a student is affected by emotional-based school non-attendance, the school will work closely with parents/carers, the student, and external agencies where necessary, to provide a package of support for the student. The school will implement a graduated approach to support, focusing on understanding and removing the barriers of attendance in partnership with the family. The aim of this will be to reintegrate the student back into education by working together to address concerns. 

This may include: 

• An attendance support plan 
• A welfare support plan 
• In-school interventions 
• A temporary reduced timetable with a planned review process to return to full time education 
• Referral to CAMHS or to Early help 
• Referral to the the AET Trust Attendance Lead as an additional supportive agency 
• Referral to ESMA if there is sufficient medical evidence