CONDUCT & RESPONSIBILITY 2026
Our Community Expectations: Punctuality & Attendance
Being early, every day, keeps students safe and learning. Here’s what families need to know.
Punctuality: why it matters
Punctuality is vital to effective learning and to the academy’s safeguarding procedures. Lateness and non‑attendance harm a child’s progress, disrupt others and can signal wider concerns at home or school. We act early and work with families and agencies where needed.
- Gates open 8:00am Formal start 9:20am Move to form 9:25am
- Students should arrive early enough to be ready at 9:20am (earlier if attending Period 0).
- Plan for delays: do not rely on the last bus or just‑in‑time arrival.
Late arrivals: the RAP room (Remote Access Provision)
What happens if a student is late?
- On arrival, late students are triaged; without an accepted reason, they are placed in the RAP room (Study Centre 6) for the day.
- They will beam into lessons remotely (or complete alternative valuable work where streaming isn’t possible).
- No in‑person lessons that day. Breaks and lunch are taken separately.
- Headphones are used; students work silently and individually.
- Staffed with high expectations for behaviour and pastoral support.
Decisions & reasons
- The academy decides whether a reason is accepted; this decision is final.
- Examples of accepted reasons: pre‑booked hospital appointments that cannot be moved; other rare, evidenced needs.
- Car drop‑off delays/traffic are not normally accepted (as for staff in a workplace).
The RAP room acts both as a deterrent and an intervention so staff can identify barriers and, where appropriate, refer for support (e.g. Safeguarding, Social Care, Police, CAMHS).
100% attendance is the expectation
- Attendance is legally compulsory on every day the academy is open.
- No special Covid exemptions now apply. Students with mild symptoms (e.g. runny nose/sore throat) should attend and use routine hygiene; masks optional.
- Students who feel very unwell or have a high temperature should stay at home for 3 days or until well enough, following normal absence procedures.
- “Beamed learning” is not offered to students who should be in school, nor to those too unwell to attend, except by specific prior agreement in limited cases.
Travel to the academy
- Students should travel independently (ideally walking or cycling).
- Car drop‑offs only by prior agreement for: very long journeys; home‑school transport entitlement/SEND; safeguarding or medical needs; or other exceptional cases agreed in writing.
Absence, lateness & safeguarding
We treat repeated lateness/non‑attendance as an early safeguarding indicator. Senior staff review patterns and may investigate or refer to external agencies. Random screening/searching may be more frequent for late arrivals to keep everyone safe.
- Unexplained/suspicious patterns can be investigated by the DSL team; some cases may relate to exploitation or other risks.
- “Joint endeavour”: students complicit in another’s truancy may also face sanction.
- Concerns are recorded on the safeguarding system (e.g. CPOMS) to identify patterns.
Accepted late re‑admission
- With prior agreement (e.g. hospital appointment), a student may rejoin normal lessons or access beamed learning and be recorded present (educated off‑site).
Uniform, dress code & PE kit
Full uniform compliance is a reasonable condition of entry. Students arriving out of uniform may be sent home to correct it and then admitted without undue delay; lateness without good reason will normally mean admission to the RAP room for the remainder of that day.
Absence procedures (1st day / 3rd day / 6th day)
Report an absence
Phone: 020 8897 2001 — choose Option 1 (Absence)
- First day: call by 9:00am with the reason.
- Leave a clear voicemail with student name, tutor group, reason, your contact number/email.
- Attendance Officers may call back or make a home visit.
While at home
- Where able, students should continue learning (homework, FROG/VLE resources).
- There’s no substitute for being in class; peers may help with notes, but catching up fully is hard.
Planned & prolonged absence
- Known in advance: notify early via the absence line (Option 1).
- Third day: call again with an update and likely return date.
- Sixth day: provide a medical letter/certificate for sickness over 5 school days.
Authorised absence (what’s allowed)
- Only some essential/serious hospital appointments and orthodontist visits may be authorised (evidence required).
- The Headteacher’s discretion is very limited beyond this; other reasons will be rare.
- Routine medical/dental should be out of school hours, INSETs, weekends or holidays.
- Holidays in term time are not allowed. Please use the 175/176 non‑school days.
Families with children in multiple schools
Check dates/times for each school before booking travel. Cranford is an independent academy: other schools’ authorisations don’t apply here.
Legal measures & safeguarding
- Persistent non‑attendance may lead to fixed penalty fines or court action.
- Non‑attendance is monitored for safeguarding risks (e.g. neglect, exploitation, FGM, mental health). We ask for cooperation with checks and visits.
Working with Hounslow EWS & local authorities
Though an independent academy, we work closely with Hounslow Council’s Education Welfare Service (EWS) and other LAs. EWS monitors attendance and can intervene where concerns arise. Our Senior Attendance & Welfare Officer leads monitoring, home visits, fines/prosecutions where necessary, and multi‑agency work.
Term dates & the school day
For the full calendar of term dates and daily timings, please see: