Frequently Asked Questions

As a school we aim to:

• Maintain an attendance rate of a minimum of 96%
• Maintain parents’ and pupils’ awareness of the importance of regular attendance.

Good attendance is important because:

• There is a direct link between under-achievement and poor attendance
• Children with high attendance make better progress, both socially and academically
• Children with high attendance find school routines and school work easier to cope with
• Children with high attendance find learning more satisfying
• Children with high attendance have an easier transfer to secondary school

As a parent you can help us by:

• You should call on the first morning of all absences with the reason and tell us when the child will return. The telephone number is 01787 277222.
• Dental and doctor’s appointments should be booked out of school hours or during school breaks
• Provide a note explaining the reason for absence on your child’s return to school after an illness
• Keep us updated by telephone or letter if your child has an extended period of absence due to illness

We shall:

• Follow up unexplained absences by phone calls and letters as soon as possible
• Inform parents of the importance of regular attendance and punctuality in newsletters, the school brochure and the Home-School agreement
• Publish our attendance rate in the school prospectus
• Reward good attendance
• Publish your child’s attendance rate on her/his annual school report
• We will let you know if we have concerns regarding your child’s attendance
• If we continue to have concerns we will make a referral to the Education Welfare Officer
• Each year we publish our school attendance figures on our website.

Authorised Absence

Some absences are allowed by law and are known as “authorised absences”. For example: if a child is ill, family bereavement, religious observance.

We realise that there are rare occasions when there might be a particular problem that causes your child to be absent. Please let us know and we shall try to deal with it sympathetically.

Unauthorised Absence

There are times when children are absent for reasons, which are not permitted by law. These are known as “unauthorised absences”. Examples of unauthorised absence are:

• “I’m waiting on a delivery.”
• “I’m shopping or for a hair cut.”
• “We are going for a family day out.”
• “It is my child’s birthday.”
• “We are sleeping in after a late night.”
• Holidays during term
• If there is no explanation for the absence or where the reason for the absence is considered unsatisfactory

Unauthorised Absences have to be reported to the Local Authority. The EWO (Education Welfare Officer) may contact you and consider taking legal action against you if your child has unauthorised absences.

Term Time Leave of Absence

As from 1st September, 2013 the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 have been amended. All references to family holidays and extended leave have been removed, together with the right for parents to apply for up to 10 days.

Therefore, the school will no longer be permitted to grant leave of absence during term time, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress. A pupil who takes 10 days absence will only attain 94.7% attendance in the year. 10 days absence also means the pupil will miss 50 hours of education.

If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken the case will be referred to the Education Welfare Service which could result in a fine.

Please remember that the more time your child misses from school, the more difficult it is for them to catch up with their work. Valuable learning time is lost.