Attendance Policy & Routine
At LAE Tottenham we believe an excellent education is underpinned first and foremost by outstanding attendance. As such, we expect all of our students to be in school each and every day, and to develop grown-up habits with regards to punctuality.
Students must arrive at school by 8:55am daily to be in form rooms, ready to learn by 9am.
This table explains our attendance thresholds:
| Outstanding attendance | Year to date attendance of 98% or better | 98.4% attendance is equivalent to one day missed per term |
| Good attendance | Year to date attendance of between 96% - 97.9% | 97% attendance is equivalent to 5 days missed across an academic year |
| Concerning attendance | Year to date attendance of between 92% - 95.9% | 92% attendance is equivalent to close to one day missed per fortnight |
| Unacceptable attendance | Year to date attendance of below 91.9% | 90% attendance is equivalent to 20 days missed over a year |
All students are part of one of our houses - Hartington, Lea, Marsh, Seven Sisters, Stonebridge, or Tower. Within each house, students are allocated to tutor groups of around 23, giving an immediate point of contact for all pastoral issues. Each tutor is supported by a Head of Year, whose responsibility it is to have oversight of the academic and pastoral development of students in the year group.
Systems Overview
For students and parents, please find an overview of the systems by which we communicate and monitor attendance:
| Morning arrival |
Tutor time begins at 9.00am All students should therefore be in by 8.55am at the latest.
|
| Morning registration | 8.55am |
| Morning lateness | Arrival between 8.56- 9.10am |
| Lateness for any lesson | Any point after 2 minutes following the start of the lesson |
| Truancy |
Unexplained and unexpected absence from a lesson, including lateness over 10 minutes. A L2 detention will be issued for any truancy. |
| Foreseen absence |
Students must apply for authorisation at least 24 hours in advance by email to the relevant attendance team. Y12: yr12attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk Y13: yr13attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk |
| Unforeseen absence |
Parents/carers should email Y12: yr12attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk Y13: yr13attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk before 9.00am. If it is not possible to email, please call in before 8.30am on 020 8352 6020 |
| Unavoidable and informed lateness |
Students should email Y12: yr12attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk Y13: yr13attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk before 8.30am. |
| Other lateness |
Any students that arrive after 8.55am would be marked late and could be entered into a late detention that day if they don't provide a reasonable explanation. Registers close at 9.10am. Any students missing by this time will be marked as absent from the morning session. Three instances of morning lateness within a week would lead to a full week of 'early morning registration' - arriving at school for 8am for 5 days. Failure to complete this would result in an L2 detention. |
The school's overall attendance for 2022-23 was 95.6%.
faq
What do I do if I know I am too unwell to attend school?
Your parent or carer must email the attendance team at yr12attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk / yr13attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk before 9:00 am. If it is not possible to email, please call in before 8.30am on 020 8352 6020.
Students cannot approve their own absence. If absence is due to illness, details of the nature of the complaint and an estimate of the time of absence should be given. Details of reasons for absence which will be authorised by the school are available in our attendance policy.
If you have a high temperature and a respiratory illness you should avoid attending school until the temperature has subsided and you feel well enough to return.
What do I do if I know about an absence in advance?
If the absence can be foreseen, then the student must apply for authorisation at least two working days in advance by email to the relevant attendance team (yr12attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk / yr13attendance@laetottenham.ac.uk). Absence taken for foreseeable reasons will not be authorised retrospectively.
All subject teachers should also approve absences for independent visits such as university open days or interviews for that day. Students should collect a form from reception, complete it along with the relevant teachers and parents/carers, and submit it to their Deputy Head of Year at least two working days in advance of the absence.
If your Head of Year rejects a request for absence, they will inform you, and you will be expected to attend school. Failure to do so will be treated as an unauthorised absence and will trigger an L2 detention.
The following are examples of absences which would normally be approved, although if concerning patterns emerge, they could be rejected:
- A medical appointment which cannot be arranged outside school hours
- A religious holiday in line with the student’s faith
- A visit to a university, either to attend an open day or for an interview (subject to good prior attendance)
- A career-related interview
- Attendance at the funeral of a close friend or immediate family member
- Severe disruption to a student’s mode of transport, where there is no practical way of getting to school
- A driving test
- Court attendance
- Family bereavement
- Wedding of an immediate family member
- Visits approved by the school
- Approved study leave
What would happen if I were absent from school without calling to report my absence?
If a student has not attended school or contacted the school before 9 am, they will be marked as N (unauthorised) for every lesson in the day.
Before 12 pm, the school will contact parents/ carers of all students who have an unreported absence. The pastoral team will attempt to contact the student or parent/carer on all known phone numbers and follow up with an email to the student and their carers. For any student with a Child Protection plan in place, we would also need to inform the allocated social worker.
On the third consecutive day of unexplained absence from the school, the pastoral team at LAET may carry out a home visit to ensure you are safe.
What should I do if I realise I am going to be late for school?
If it becomes clear on your journey to school that you will be late, email the attendance team immediately to explain why. Keep in mind that providing a reason does not always excuse you from potential sanctions if it is not a valid reason for being late.
What will happen if I am late for school?
If you are late and do not inform the school about an interrupted journey, you will be marked as late. You will also need to report to late detention at breaktime with a pastoral staff member to explain your absence.
What should I do if I am late for a lesson?
If you are more than two minutes late for a lesson, you should politely and quietly knock on the door of your classroom and wait to be addressed by your teacher. They will then invite you into the lesson and will address your lateness at an appropriate time. Any late marks logged will result in one negative behaviour point. Lateness beyond 10 minutes will be considered truancy, triggering an L2 detention, which may bring about further sanctions.
What if I am late more than once in a week?
If you record two lates within one week at the start of the school day, you may be required to attend early morning registration for the entire following week. This means arriving at school at an earlier time. This helps break the cycle of poor punctuality and improve your habits. Failing to complete this will result in an L1 detention.
Persistent lateness will lead to our pastoral stage system and communication with your parents, as outlined in our behaviour policy.
How will LAET monitor our attendance?
Your attendance will be tracked and monitored every half term, and as a year-to-date figure. This information feeds into our pastoral stage system. If your attendance falls below school expectations, we will arrange an attendance meeting through this system. The only exceptions are for known, exceptional circumstances (see below for details).
We will communicate with parents/ carers where attendance and/or punctuality become a cause for concern. If no improvement is made, meetings will be held with your parents/ carers and the pastoral stage system followed.
Attendance below 96% may mean that students are unable to take advantage of external opportunities or trips.
Students with attendance below 90% may face sanctions that lead to removal from the school and/or withdrawal from examinations.
If you have any underlying medical conditions or other personal circumstances which are likely to affect your attendance/ punctuality, please inform the attendance team and provide evidence so that we can make reasonable accommodations.