School Attendance
(To view the school attendance policy click here)
All parents and carers who have children of compulsory school age are responsible in law for ensuring that their children receive a suitable education. Early intervention by schools to improve and maintain good attendance and reduce persistent absence levels is crucial for the well-being of children and young people.
Should your child be too unwell for school, you must call the school office on 01756 793314 (absence - option 1) before 9:00am each day to explain the reasons why they will not be in school. School will follow up any unreported absences.
Attendance Officer - Miss Neal in the school office is available (morning only) to chat to should you have any queries.
Absence during Term Time
The following article explains the law around leave of absence from school during term time (effective from September 2013)
The Department for Education requires Local Authorities to implement government amendments to the regulations regarding the taking of Leave of Absence in term-time, which will came into force on the 1st September 2013. The new law gives no entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time.
Headteachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional. Therefore Headteachers will only be able to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and this will still be at the discretion of the Headteacher.
No parent/carer can demand leave of absence as of right. The Education Regulations state that applications must be made in advance by a parent/carer with whom the child lives and can only be authorised by the school in exceptional circumstances. Each leave application is considered individually by the school taking into account any factors presented by the family. Application forms are available from school and by clicking on the link below.
The following are examples of the criteria for leave of absence, which may be considered as ‘exceptional’:
Service personnel returning from active deployment
Where inflexibility of the parents’ leave or working arrangement is part of the organisational or company policy. This would need to be evidenced by the production or confirmation from the organisation/company
Where leave is recommended as part of a parents’ or child’s rehabilitation from medical or emotional problems. Evidence must be provided.
When a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis
This is not an exhaustive list and Headteachers must consider the individual circumstances of each case when making a decision on this matter. Leave in term time is only acceptable against these exceptional circumstances and can not be granted on the basis of attendance record, academic performance or the ‘experience’ offered by being out of school.
Where a headteacher feels that there may be exceptional circumstances which does not fit the criteria, they may refer to the local authority for advice. The decision of the Headteacher is, however, final. (Please note that the ability to access a reduced cost of a holiday does not constitute an exceptional circumstance.)
Where a child is taken out of school for the purpose of leave of absence in term time without the permission of the school, the absence will be coded as unauthorised and as such may result in a Penalty Notice. Penalties are issued and applied by the Local Authority and as such are not at the discretion of the headteacher. If a Penalty Notice is not paid, the matter may be taken to prosecution in the Magistrates Court.
Penalty notices will be issued for each child and to each parent. Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.
Over a three year period from the date of the first Penalty Notice:
- The first Penalty Notice will be charged at £80 if paid within 21 days, payment after 21 days but within 28 days is £160.
- A second Penalty Notice will be charged at a standard £160.
- A third or subsequent offence will be subject to a prosecution through the Magistrates’ courts.
If you’re prosecuted and attend court because your child hasn’t been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500.
This three-year period will continue to subsequent schools.
We ask all parents to be mindful that taking a pupil on leave during term time interrupts teaching and learning and will disrupt your child’s educational progress.