Attendance - Parents Guide
1. When does my child need to be in school?
Regular attendance at school is extremely important and children and parents should aim for 100% attendance for the 190 school days each year – details of term dates can be found here. To maximise every schoolday 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 All school attendance is regularly monitored and 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.
For information about whether your child is well enough to attend school guidance can be found on the NHS website - https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
4. What reasons will the school accept for absences?
- Illness
- Emergency dental / medical appointment (please make routine appointments after school or during the holidays)
- Family bereavement
Where other absences from school are unavoidable, an Absence from School form must be completed in as far advance as possible. This form will ask for the reasons for the absence, including; the type of appointment (if relevant) and times, the reason for the absence, details of any exceptional circumstances. This form should be returned to the school and you will be notified if the absence has been authorised or unauthorised.
Other 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
- 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.
- To attend a wedding of a person close to the family – up to 1 day.
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 more detail in the Attendance Policy.
6. We are planning a term time holiday?
Government Guidance advises that schools should not authorise requests for term time absence unless the school has received suitable evidence of exceptional circumstances. The Government does not consider a family holiday to be an exceptional circumstance. If the leave of absence is not authorised, and you nevertheless take your child out of school, this will be recorded as unauthorised leave.
Should you choose to take your child out of school unauthorised for a term time holiday, then the school must inform the Local Authority Attendance Team. Under the new national framework (Aug 2024) fines are considered when a child has missed 10 or more sessions/5 days for unauthorised reasons. The Education Act 1996 states that parents can be prosecuted if their child is not attending regularly and if you have parental responsibility, this could mean receiving a fixed penalty notice. The amount is £80 (per parent per child) if paid within 21 days and £160 (per parent per child) if paid between 21 and 28 days. If a previous penalty notice has been issued the Local Authority may decide to proceed directly to prosecution.
7. 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.
8. 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.
For all other information about school attendance, please refer to the attached Attendance Policy for more details. We have also included links to the most up to date DoE attendance information.
