ATTENDANCE:
All children are expected to be punctual, regular attendees at school. Lateness is closely monitored and we welcome parental support in ensuring children get to school on time as persistent lateness disrupts learning, both of the individual child and the class as a whole.
Leave of Absence:
Head Teachers no longer have the discretionary authority to approve holiday leave during term time. This practice changed in September 2013 and only extreme circumstances will now be considered for approved leave. Any parent who wishes to take their child out of school during term time, irrespective of the circumstances, must put it in writing to the Head Teacher as there is now a formal framework in place for the monitoring of attendance an unauthorised absence.
Genuine medical appointments are exempt from this process but parents should still provide copy of any appointment letter etc. as clarification that the appointment is genuine.
Fixed Penalty Notices
The rules around irregular attendance from September 2024 are changing. As you are aware, “all children of compulsory school age who are registered pupils at a school, must attend that school regularly and punctually. It is the responsibility of families to ensure this”. (Department for Education)
The definition of irregular absences includes holidays taken in term time and persistent absence patterns failing into an unauthorised criteria. This is criteria set by the Government and is out of any school’s control.
Parents may also be interested to review the Local Authority's Code of Conduct regarding the introduction of the Fixed Penalty Notice process, which is available here. It can also be downloaded from the Policy link of the website: