Admissions and Attendance

Admissions

Drake Primary Academy is part of Reach South Academy Trust. The academy trust is its own admission authority, however, it has decided to become incorporated into the Local Authority admissions procedures. The parents' of a child wishing to join the school will have to contact Plymouth Schools’ Admissions team before their child can start at Drake. You are very welcome to visit the school at any time, please contact the office to make an appointment.

Plymouth Schools Admissions Team can be contacted through their website:

or email: primary.admissions@plymouth.gov.uk

Or for further information about choosing and applying for schools call 01752 307170 or 01752 307110 for primary in-year admissions or 01752 307467 for secondary in-year admissions.

School admissions staff are available from: 11am to 3pm.

Attendance

We expect all children to have an attendance level of above 97.5 %. Research has shown that children who have high attendance also have higher attainment, children whose attendance is below 90% only have a 20% chance of achieving the expected levels in the core subjects at the end of their year.

It is therefore extremely important that our pupils attend school regularly, as unnecessary time off has a dramatic impact on attainment and progress. We understand that children may be away from school for valid reasons. If your child is unwell please notify the school office on the morning of the first day of their illness.

We will regularly update parents of their child’s current attendance levels. If you child has poor attendance, below 90% then we may refer them to the Education Welfare Team. An Education Welfare Officer will contact parents to support families in improving their child’s attendance.

The changes to the Code of Conduct mean that no penalty notice will be issued for unauthorised holiday absence which is equivalent 10 sessions (5 days) in a rolling 12-month period. For all other types of unauthorised absence, the threshold will remain at 8 sessions (4 days within a rolling 12-month period).