What do I do if my child/young person is ill?

If your child is ill, you must call school as soon as possible to let us know on 01564 792514. There is an answerphone for you to leave a message if we are unavailable to answer the phone. Please remember to leave your child's name and reason for absence.

You can also email us at admin.venture@macintyreacademies.org

Study Bugs 

Venture Academy uses 'Study Bugs' to monitor attendance. As a parent/carer you can download the Study Bugs app on a phone or tablet to easily report sickness absence by clicking on this link https://studybugs.com/about/parents. It is quick and easy to register and automatically reminds you to keep us notified of ongoing absence.

You will be helping the NHS and other public health organisations improve children's health using this method of reporting, and you will receive medical advice from the NHS regarding your child's condition. 

If you need any help or support with the app please contact the school.

What if my child/young person has an appointment to go to?

Whilst we appreciate that medical appointments are difficult to arrange, especially when they are of an urgent matter, we ask that routine appointments or check-ups are arranged for out of school time where possible. This helps us manage time effectively in school and direct our resources where they can have the maximum impact on learning, rather than ‘catching up’.

How do I request time away from school (leave of absence) for my child/young person?

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013, govern all requests for leave within term-time. When considering such requests for a leave of absence, the school are obliged to act within the law.

The amended regulations removed references to ‘holiday’ and ‘extended leave’, as well as the statutory threshold of 10 school days. It is now clear that Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application. If the leave is granted, head teachers are able to determine the number of school days a child can be absent for. 

The Government has not defined ‘exceptional circumstances’ as referred to in the 2013 regulations. It is for the Head Teacher to decide what he/she views as ‘exceptional’ and it is at their discretion if the circumstances warrant the leave to be granted.

The school can only consider Leave of Absence requests which are made by the ‘resident’ parent.

Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case by case basis and on its own merits.

Where applications for leave of absence are made in advance and refused, the child/young person will be required to be in school on the dates set out in the application. If the child/young person is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence, which may result in legal action being taken against the parent(s), by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Failure to make an application for leave in advance can also result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued to the parents/carers.

We greatly appreciate parental support to reduce the total amount of days lost due to holidays.   We are committed to working in partnership with you to enable your child to reach their academic targets and to support their social development. For this to happen we need to keep individual attendance as high as possible - we all need to play our part.

If you do need to make a Leave of Absence Request, you can find the form below. Please complete in full with a detailed explanation for the reason for the absence and return to school or email to admin.venture@macintyreacademies.org