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Attendance & Punctuality

Reporting Absence

Regular attendance is very important. The Education Act 1996 states: “If any child of compulsory school age, who is a registered pupil at a school, fails to attend regularly, the parents of the child shall be guilty of an offence.”

  • Your child should attend school every day and arrive on time by 8.50am.
  • You should contact the school on each and every day of an absence.
  • You should make every effort to get your child to school. The school will contact you if your child is unwell and needs to be collected.
  • Make sure the school have the correct contact details especially in case of emergency.
  • Don’t be offended if the school contacts you. It is for the safety and welfare of your child.
  • If you do have issues that prevent your child from attending, discuss these issues as soon as possible with the school. Do not leave it. Contact the school and ask for an appointment to talk about any problems.
  • If your child has any health issues please make sure the school is aware and if appropriate, make arrangements to supply the school with an asthma pump or Epipen for example.
  • You should not take your child out of school for a holiday during term time. If you feel you need to take leave during term time you must put your request to the Headteacher in writing. It is the Headteacher who has the discretion to authorise the absence, if they feel there are exceptional circumstances to justify this. Each request is considered on an individual basis. If the leave is refused and you go ahead with the holiday the school may request that a fine is issued in the form of a penalty notice.
  • There is no doubt that attendance and achievement go hand in hand. Your child’s attendance is their future.
  • If your child’s unauthorised absence does not improve, it will be necessary to take further action. This will be in the form of a penalty notice. The penalty notice is £120 per parent/carer per child reduced to £60 per parent/care/per child if paid within 21 days. Failure to pay the penalty notice in full by the end of the 28 day period may result in prosecution by the Local Authority.
  • Should your child’s unauthorised absence remain high, after all possible intervention, legal proceedings will be put in place.