Attendance and Absence
Studies have shown that those pupils whose attendance is good are more likely to do well at school. Your child’s attendance is extremely important to their future success at school. In addition to regular attendance pupils are expected to be punctual. Being at school at the right time is of great importance because if pupils miss the start of the lesson it makes the learning harder for them. Our approach to attendance can be summarised in this letter which is the basis of our approach – Attendance Letter
If your child is sick and unable to attend school it is important that you contact the school office as soon as possible on the first day of absence. Your child’s absence can then be authorised by the headteacher. Authorised absences are absences with permission from the school. If we have not heard from you by 9.15am, we ring your child’s emergency contact numbers to ensure that all is well. If we are not able to get in touch with any of your emergency contacts (we ask you to provide two) then we may do a ‘Safe and Well’ check ourselves or pass your details onto the Education Welfare Team or Local Authority via Compass. The aim of this is to make sure that your child is safe and well.
If your child needs to leave school during the course of the day for medical appointments or other reasons, they must be registered by an adult in the in/out register at the school office. Similarly if a child comes to school late, after the Children’s Entrance door has been closed or later during the day after an appointment they must be entered into the same register by an adult.
Unauthorised absences are absences without permission from the school and include unexplained absences and unjustified absences. The Education Welfare Service (EWS) works to support schools in monitoring levels of attendance and punctuality. It has powers to ensure that parents support school in maintaining good attendance. Local Authorities (LAs) in conjunction with schools and the EWS have the powers to take parents to court and prosecute unauthorised absence during term time.
Holidays and Leave of Absence in Term Time
Holiday and other absence in term time is strongly discouraged by the Department for Education (DfE). Please do not book any activities that would result in your child being absent during term time without first requesting authorisation from the school. No absences during term time can now be authorised unless they are for exceptional circumstances.
Leave of absence cannot be granted retrospectively. If a request has been refused by the headteacher and parents proceed with the absence, this will be recorded as unauthorised and the Education Welfare Service will be informed. In this instance the Local Authority may serve a fixed penalty notice.