Absence from School is divided into two kinds, authorised and unauthorised. The government is very concerned about the level of unauthorised absence, and each school must now publish statistics showing the level of unauthorised absence.
When your child is unexpectedly absent from school, please telephone on the first morning to let the school know. We have a dedicated absence line. Absence can also be reported using the Edulink app. Without an explanation for absence, children will be marked as unauthorised.
If your child has a medical or dental appointment please inform the teacher well in advance, especially if it is an early morning appointment. If the appointment takes place during the day, children can be collected from the school office. For safety reasons we do not let children out of school unaccompanied. Children cannot be collected/return to school during the lunch period.
Our full attendance policy can be found here.
Holidays in term time
As from September 2013, Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence in term time unless there are very exceptional circumstances.
Family holidays are not regarded as exceptional circumstances, therefore any absence taken for holidays will be subject to a fixed penalty notice. From September 2024 this has been increased as follows:
Fixed penalty fines effective 01 September 2024 will be issued per parent per child.
1st Offence
£80 fine – will be issued and would need to paid within 21 days
If payment not received within 21 days, the fine will increase to £160 and must be paid within 7 days. Failure to pay the fine of £160 will result in prosecution in the magistrates’ court.
2nd Offence within 3 years
£160 fine – will be issued and would need to be paid within 21 days. Failure to pay the fine of £160 within 21 days will result in prosecution in the magistrates’ court.
3rd Offence within 3 years
Where a family is identified to be fined on a 3rd occasion within a 3-year period, these cases will be referred straight to the magistrates’ court for prosecution.
Cross Borough Checks
In cases where your child has moved between local authority areas the authority for that area will be contacted to check whether a penalty notice / prosecution has been actioned.
Co-parenting
A penalty notice can be issued to each parent or guardian liable for the attendance offence. This means if a child is residing with a parent and is taken on unauthorised leave with another parent or guardian, both would be issued with a penalty notice fine regardless of which parent has applied for a leave of absence.
