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Attendance
All children are expected to attend school regularly. In cases of illness or exceptional circumstances relating to non-attendance, parents are asked to notify the school by telephone, email or via the Parent Mail app on the first day of absence.
By doing this we will then be able to fulfil our legal requirements regarding the registration of pupils and record the reason for absence in the class register. All absences for which we do not receive valid reasons are shown as unauthorised absences on the pupil’s Annual Report. ALL unauthorised absences or frequent absences are monitored and in persistent or long-term cases the school will call upon the Education Welfare Officer to visit the child’s home.
If your child is absent due to illness, a phone call or message to the school office should be made on the first day of absence. If the school becomes concerned about the authenticity of any illness, the school may in certain circumstances consult its Education Welfare Officer and the School Health service or the pupil’s GP.
DfE Attendance Matters - A Parents Guide
Requests for leave of absence during term-time
While the school does not encourage absences during term-time, if you need to take your child out of school for half a day or longer for any reason, please contact the school office.
With regard to medical appointments, we ask parents/carers to make appointments outside of school hours please. We understand that on occasion this is unavoidable and ask please that you send a note in advance or a phone call to the school office if you need to take your child out of school for doctor/dentist/hospital appointments. If the appointment requires half a day or longer, please have available the hospital/medical appointment card or letter in order to avoid an unauthorised absence mark for the morning or afternoon in question.
Amendments to The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 – which came into force on 1 September 2013 – have removed references to family holiday and extended leave as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days. The amendments make it clear that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Days of religious observance
- Absence from school to take part in any day set aside exclusively for religious observance by the religious body to which the parents belong, including religious festivals will be authorised by the school.
- We encourage all parents to give advance notice to their child’s teacher or the school office, particularly if the period of religious observance is likely to last for a long period of time.
