Attendance - Parents Guide
1. When does my child need to be in school?
Your child should be at school in good time for registration. The morning register will be called promptly at 8.45 a.m. and the afternoon register at 1.10 p.m.
2. What happens if my child is late?
Registration finishes at 9 a.m. in the morning and 1.20 p.m. in the afternoon.
If your child arrives between 8.55 a.m. and 9.05 a.m. he/she will be marked late.
If your child arrives after 9.05 a.m. he/she will be marked absent.
(Pupils who arrive after registration should report to the school office If a pupil is persistently late a meeting will be arranged with the Head Teacher and parents/carers.
3. What do I do if my child is too ill to attend school?
We would expect a parent to telephone the school on the first day of absence 01946 695311. If you do not phone us, we will phone you. If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will not authorise the absence, and this will be shown on your child’s end of year report.
4. What reasons will the school accept for absences?
- Illness
- Emergency dental / medical appointment (please make routine appointments after school or during the holidays)
- Day of religious observance
- Family bereavement
Except in the case of illness, you should ask for permission for your child to miss school well in advance, giving full details. In cases of recurring absences through illness you may be asked to produce a medical certificate.
5. Will the School contact me if my child is absent?
The school operates a first day response to absences: we will phone you if we have not heard from you. The full first contact response is explained in the attachment at the rear of the policy.
6. I am thinking about sending my child on an extended absence for an overseas trip to visit relatives. What should I do?
The school recognises that such absence can be important for children to keep in touch with their extended family. Contact your child’s class teacher as soon as possible to discuss the best time for such a visit.
The school would strongly recommend that such absences do not take place during your child’s SATs examinations. You need to complete an application form for extended leave of absence
7. We are planning a term time holiday?
School actively discourage families from taking holidays during term time. New legislation asks for school to provide details of this and you could be issued a fixed penalty notice, and when term time holidays are taken after penalty notices have been issued you could face prosecution. Please see details below of the new attendance framework that was issued to school in September 2025.
8. What can I do to encourage my child to attend school?
Make sure your child gets enough sleep and gets up in plenty of time each morning. Ensure that he/she leaves home in the correct clothes and properly equipped. Show your child, by your interest, that you value his/her education.
9. My child is trying to avoid coming to school. What should I do?
Contact your child’s class teacher immediately and openly discuss your worries. Your child could be avoiding school for a number of reasons. It is important that we identify the reason for your child’s reluctance to attend school and work together to tackle the problem.
Leave of Absence during term time
- Leave of absence during term time will only be granted under exceptional circumstances.
- The law does not grant parents an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time. The Department for Education allows a Head Teacher the discretion to consider authorising a leave of absence in term time only in “exceptional circumstances”.
- No Holidays taken during term time will be authorised.
- The law states that the provision for Head Teachers to authorise absence purely for the purpose of a family holiday is not an exceptional circumstance.
- We define ‘exceptional circumstances’ as an event or problem which you did not expect.
- The school considers each application for term-time absence individually, taking into account the specific facts, circumstances and relevant context behind the request. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the Head Teacher’s discretion.
Valid reasons for exceptional circumstances / authorised absence may include:
- Illness and medical/dental appointments or where an absence from school is recommended by a health professional as part of a parent or child’s rehabilitation from a medical or emotional issue.
- Service personnel returning from a tour of duty abroad where it is evidenced the individual will not be in receipt of any leave in the near future that coincides with school holidays.
- Religious observance – where the day is exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the pupil’s parents belong. If necessary, the school will seek advice from the parents’ religious body to confirm whether the day is set apart.
- Traveller pupils travelling for occupational purposes – this covers Roma, English and Welsh Gypsies, Irish and Scottish Travellers, Showmen (fairground people) and Circus people, Bargees (occupational boat dwellers) and New Travellers. Absence may be authorised only when a Traveller family is known to be travelling for occupational purposes and has agreed this with the school but it is not known whether the pupil is attending educational provision
- Bereavement, unexpected personal or family problems or illness might be considered as an exceptional circumstance.
- To attend a wedding of a person close to the family – up to 1 day.
The school will identify pupils and families where attendance is poor and meetings, letters, closer monitoring may be considered as detailed above.
Evidence would be required in each case to support any application for leave. The school will not condone holidays taken during term time, permission for absences in term time may only be granted for exceptional circumstances. When a request is not authorised, parents have the right of representation to the School governors.
If a request meets the above exceptional circumstances but falls within the following times, the Head teacher must be convinced that absence from school is the only option:
- The first half term of any academic year (applies to all pupils)
- Year six transition days (for pupils in year six)
- Year six SAT’s week(for pupils in year six)
- Year two – SAT’s week (week to be decided by school)
- Parents and carers must complete a ‘Leave of Absence’ form outlining in writing the “exceptional circumstances”. The head teacher may invite you to attend a meeting to discuss your request. This must be done at least 2 weeks prior to the leave (except for a bereavement).
- All unauthorised absences, including holidays that have not been sanctioned by the Head Teacher, are accumulated and parents who fail to ensure regular attendance of their children at school can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996. The amount is £60 (per parent per child) if paid within 21 days and £120 (per parent per child) if paid between 21 and 28 days. Failure to pay a Penalty Notice will result in prosecution, except in limited circumstances.
