Attendance

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PLEASE THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE TAKING YOUR CHILD OUT OF SCHOOL DURING TERM TIME

By law you must ask for permission for your children to miss school.  Time off in term time will not be agreed for holidays. Children should only be absent from school for illness and medical appointments.  You can request “leave in term time” for your child using a request form available at the School Office.  However, holidays WILL NOT be authorised.

TO HELP YOUR CHILD DO WELL IN SCHOOL, YOU SHOULD:

  • Arrange family holidays to coincide with school holidays
  • Never take your child out of school when there are important examinations or tests
  • Be aware of the potential impact on your child’s education
  • Avoid taking your child out of school when they are just starting. This is very important as your child needs to settle into their new environment as quickly as possible.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

  • Aim for 10 hours sleep a night for your child. This will make the following day at school easier for them to cope with.
  • Make sure your child eats breakfast, it helps them stay alert at school.
  • Help your child develop routines.
  • Get their school bag ready the night before.
  • Develop a night time routine that involves checking their homework, reading & bed.
  • Try & make sure that any medical/dental appointments are made for after school.
  • Never take holidays in term time.
  • If you know your child will be absent from school, write a note before the day of absence.
  • If your child is ill, ring the school as soon as possible on the first day of absence.

HOLIDAYS

There are 190 statutory school days in one year. That means there are 175 days (weekends & school holidays) available to use for holidays.

There is no entitlement to time off in school time to go on holiday.  Headteachers cannot authorise any leave in term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. ALL holidays will be unauthorised.  Any period taken without agreement of the school, or in excess of that agreed, will be classed as unauthorised and may attract a Penalty Notice.

A 2 week holiday in school time means your child has approximately 50 hours of missed work to catch up on! Penalty Notices are now being issued.

We expect regular attendance.  The best attendees achieve the best grades and we reward and celebrate our best attenders.

Every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required.

Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason like illness, which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable cause.

Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no ‘leave’ has been given. This type of absence can lead to the Authority using sanctions and/or legal proceedings.

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