Attendance

What to do if my child is absent?

Please ensure that you contact the school office before 9:00am on the first day of absence.

Why is regular attendance so important?

Being in school every day that it is open, is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and their wider development.

Here’s what the data shows:

Pupils with higher attainment at KS2 and KS4 had lower levels of absence over the key stage compared to those with lower attainment.
Pupils who did not achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2019 had an overall absence rate of 4.7% over the key stage, compared with 3.5% among pupils who achieved the expected standard and 2.7% among those who achieved the higher standard.
Generally, the higher the percentage of sessions missed across the key stage at KS2 and KS4, the lower the level of attainment at the end of the key stage.
Among pupils with no missed sessions over KS2, 83.9% achieved the expected standard compared to 40.2% of pupils who were persistently absent.

There are only a small number of circumstances where missing a school day is permitted.

When can my child be absent from school?

When you register your child at school, you have a legal duty to ensure your child attends that school regularly.

This means that your child must attend every day that the school is open, unless:

Your child is too ill to attend that day.
You have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on that day due to exceptional circumstances.
Your child cannot attend school on that day because it is a day you are taking part in religious observance
Your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it is not available on that day or has not been provided yet; or
You are a gypsy/traveller family with no fixed abode, and you are required to travel for work that day meaning your child cannot attend their usual school. In most circumstances, however, your child is required to attend another school temporarily during such absences.

These are the only circumstances where schools can permit your child to be absent.

Can I take my child on holiday during term time?

Parents should plan their holidays around school breaks and avoid requesting leaves of absence for holidays unless it is unavoidable.

As leave of absence is only granted in exceptional circumstances, it is unlikely that your child’s headteacher will agree a leave of absence for a family holiday.

If permission is refused and you keep your child off school on the days requested, you are likely to be committing an offence and be issued a fixed penalty notice or be prosecuted by your local authority.

Where can I get support to help my child attend school?

Children may struggle to attend school for a wide range of reasons.

Please make contact with school at the earliest opportunity so that we can support you to improve school attendance.