Absence Reporting
Attendance
If your child is going to be absent from school, please call the school office and leave a voicemail to report the absence before 9am. Our school office team will call you if your child is absent and we do not know the reason. If we are unable to reach the primary contact, we will endeavour to establish a reason for the absence from one of the other contacts listed for the child.
To help with the smooth running of the system, please ensure you follow the school’s procedure:
- Inform the school if your child is going to be absent from school by calling the school office and leaving a voicemail;
- Provide a doctor’s certificate if the illness is prolonged and/or the school requests a copy;
- Advise the school if your child is going to be late for any reason.
Changes to Penalty Notices for Non School Attendance
From September 2024 the Department for Education have introduced some changes regarding attendance. One change relates to penalty notices for non-school attendance. We have outlined these changes below.
The DfE will introduce a new National Framework for Penalty Notices on 19th August 2024, this is explained in more detail here Working Together to Improve School Attendance 2024
Reasons for Penalty Notices/Prosecution
Term Time Leave of Absence
Schools can apply to their local authority for a penalty notice when there are 5 or more days of consecutive absence due to term time leave.
Unauthorised Absence
Schools may apply to their local authority for a penalty notice if there are 10 or more sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10-week period. There are 2 sessions in a day (1 in the morning and 1 after lunch). These absences can be a combination of the following codes:
G - Term Time Leave of Absence (unauthorised)
O - Unauthorised Absence - Failure to contact the school (unexplained absence) may result in an absence being recorded as unauthorised
U - Late After the Close of Registers
Who is Liable for a Penalty Notice / Prosecution?
Penalty notices/prosecution are issued/sought for each parent for each child (per parent, per child). Parent refers to anyone with parental responsibility and may include carers, step parents, grandparents or any other adult with parental responsibility.
The first time a penalty notice is issued for term time leave of absence or unauthorised absences, the amount has increased to:
£160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days of being issued, this amount is reduced to £80 if paid within the first 21 days of being issued.
If a second penalty notice is issued for term time leave of absence or unauthorised absences within a three-year period, there will not be a discount for early payment.
The second penalty notice is payable at the full amount of £160 per parent, per child, within 28 days of the date of being issued.
If there is a third instance of term time leave of absence or unauthorised absence, within a three year period, a penalty notice will not be issued. Cases will be referred directly to Magistrates court for Prosecution.
Good attendance at school is proven to lead to good academic results. Attendance at all school sessions is required by law. The only exceptions to this are in cases of illness or in extremely rare instances where the Headteacher has granted special leave of absence. Holidays during term-time will not be authorised. If you wish to request a leave of absence due to exceptional circumstances, please complete the form below and return to the School Office.
Medical Appointments
Parents/carers are asked most not to arrange these appointments during school sessions, except in cases of urgency, so that considerable interference with school work is avoided. Please do not keep children out of school for the whole day unless absolutely necessary. If your child has to have a medical or dental appointment during school time, please inform the school office in advance.
Children leaving or arriving at school during the school day must be signed in or out at the School Office by their parent/carer or authorised adult.
