Attendance Policy
Good attendance correlates significantly to academic achievement and so Ashbourne expects students to attend all lessons punctually. Where this expectation is not met students will undergo intervention with the Attendance team, their Personal Tutor and with their parents/guardians involved so that measures can be taken to improve their attendance.
Parents and guardians can view a student’s attendance record on the parent portal.
All students are required to have a parent or guardian in the UK who may be contactable by phone or email. All students must have a UK mobile number. Students are expected to check their Ashbourne email accounts regularly for all information dealing with Ashbourne. The College will only communicate to students through Ashbourne email accounts.
The late arrival system does not allow a ‘5 minute grace period’; if students are 1 minute late they are still late.
Attendance at the College is compulsory for all timetabled lessons. Staff members monitor attendance and punctuality using the following acronyms:
POT – This is used to indicate the student is present and on time for a lesson. PLA – This is used to indicate the student was present but late for a lesson. Please note: Contact will be made with parents/guardians of students who are frequently late. If late attendance is persistent, they should also expect intervention from their Personal Tutor or a member of the Attendance Team.
AA – This is used to indicate an authorised absence, where the student/parents/behaviour contact has informed the College of the reason for their absence. The following (non-academic) reasons are acceptable in this case:
Please note: A doctor’s note is required for any illness that causes a student to miss more than three consecutive days of classes. This ensures that students are receiving the proper medical care for any illness. We understand that some medical appointments may require having to take time out of class. However, whenever possible students should arrange appointments outside of class time. Proof of unavoidable medical appointments must be provided prior to the appointment in order to authorise the absence.
UA – This is used to indicate an unauthorised absence, where the student/parents/behaviour contact has not informed the College of the reason for their absence OR the student’s reason for absence has not been accepted.
SR – This is used to indicate a school (academic) reason for an absence. In these cases the student must still inform the College of the academic reason for their absence. The following reasons will be accepted in this situation:
Ashbourne expects regular attendance from all of its students. For students on a Tier 4 visa, if 10 consecutive expected contact points are missed without authorisation, Ashbourne is obligated to report them to UKVI. At Ashbourne, we state that a contact point is one full day of absence.
All international students are made aware of the fact that their attendance is vital to the retention of their visa as well as their academic success. Students must understand that their visa status is not final and may be jeopardised by any absenteeism. In the worst-case scenario, their visa may be revoked.
Holidays during term time are not permitted at Ashbourne. All absences due to late arrival from holiday after term breaks and holiday taken during term time will be marked as Unauthorised Absence (UA) in the register. Ashbourne term dates are available on our website.
If a student leaves for a break or holiday before the end of term or returns from such after the beginning of term, without permission from the Director of Studies, this will be considered as breach of conduct as outlined in the Student Behaviour and Exclusions Policy for which the student may incur sanctions.
Should a student leave early for the end of term or return late for the start of term, we will ask for evidence of travel documentation ie. flight tickets, as evidence on the student’s record.
If a student who is sponsored by Ashbourne College on a Tier 4 visa leaves before the end of term or returns after the beginning of term, and the absence exceeds 10 days, the College reserves the right to report the absence to the Home Office (UKVI), which could jeopardise the student’s right to study in the UK.
If a parent or guardian believes that there are extenuating circumstances to support a request for leave during term time, such a request should be put in writing to the Head of Year and Director of Studies.
Ashbourne respects that students revise in different ways and endeavours to organise its academic year to benefit all types of students.
Ashbourne allows three weeks of holiday during Easter, where students have the opportunity to revise at home alone or participate in ‘active revision’ by attending Ashbourne’s Easter Revision programme. Each student is given one free course and has the opportunity to sign up for additional paid courses if they feel they require extra support during this period.
During Half Term (HT4) Mock Week, fewer lessons are scheduled for Year 12 and 13 students, and students can use this time to revise at home or are welcome to use Ashbourne’s facilities to study. GCSE students will have supervised study or trip activities during this week, in addition to their mock exams.
Ashbourne’s last day of teaching is usually the last Friday in May. In the month of June Ashbourne organises 3-hour revision courses, primarily for Year 13 students which students may wish to attend if they want to prepare more thoroughly for the examinations.
In general students are not permitted to miss lessons during term-time because they wish to revise for an examination. This is true even when they have an examination in the same week as they have lessons. Nonetheless, the College will consider requests for study leave on a case-by-case basis and always with the proviso that the student ‘checks in’ at least once per week to report on progress.
Year 12 students must attend UCAS week, which usually takes place in the first week of June. This week is compulsory for all Year 12 students and is a critical part of their UCAS preparation that involves drafting their first copy of their UCAS statement.
The examination boards always schedule a ‘contingency day’ in case something happens on a national basis that prevents one of the timetabled exam days from taking place, e.g. a major national incident such as a terrorist attack, extreme weather, transport issue. All students need to be available on this date as well as on their scheduled exam dates in case of such an eventuality. Therefore students should not book a holiday before this date. This date is usually at the end of June/beginning of July and will be confirmed by JCQ every year.
Daily tasks
Weekly tasks
Every Half Term
A level entry is typically for students who are 16 or over on the first day of term. However, Ashbourne may accept students for A level study who are not yet 16. This happens either because they are extremely able and can cope with the rigours of an A level programme, or they have completed GCSEs (or equivalent) a year early. In some of these cases, students will undertake a 2.5 or 3-year A level programme.
The Head of GCSE will be the Personal Tutor for these students who must follow the rules for GCSE students. Upon reaching 16, the Head of Year 12 will work with the Head of GCSE to ensure a smooth transition to a Personal Tutor. Please refer to the A level Students Under 16 Policy for further details.
Authorised by
The Principal
Date
September 2021
Effective date of the policy
September 2021
Circulation
Teaching staff / all staff / parents / Students on request
Review date
September 2022