Absences

Please call the school by 9.30am on the first morning that your child is away.  This helps us to ensure that all children who have left home to come to school have arrived safely.  Children who arrive after 9:00 am are late for registration and must enter the school via the Office to sign in.  If they arrive after 9.15am this will be counted as an unauthorised absence for that period. We are always keen to support families who are finding it difficult to maintain their child’s regular, punctual attendance so please let our Pastoral Team know if you think we can help you.

Authorised Absence is an absence agreed by the Headteacher with an explanation from parents or carers.

Unauthorised Absence is an absence that has not been agreed by the Headteacher

Medical appointments during the school day will be authorised although we will request doctors’ notes or medical evidence.

Persistent lateness will be referred to our Education Welfare Officer - Mahad Ali

Pupil Absences Request For Exceptional Circumstances

Amendments to the 2006 regulations (2013) make clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Parents do not have the automatic right to withdraw pupils from school and, in law, have to apply for permission in advance.  You are required to complete an Exceptional Circumstances obtainable from the school office.

Absence/Holidays During Term Time

The Head may only authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and will require evidence to validate any request. Term time holidays should not be planned or booked as they will be unauthorised and could lead to the issuing of a fine by the Local Authority. Parents wishing to request leave of absence should collect a request form from the office and give to the Head for approval. An appointment can be made should you wish to discuss absence requests with the Head.

Absence without explanation or authorisation

This will be classed as unauthorised absence and recorded in the register as such. Attendance is monitored by ELAN's Welfare Officer. Unauthorised absence could lead to the Local Authority issuing a penalty notice.  

Penalty Notices/Fines

Penalty Notices are issued by the local authority and require each parent of a child of compulsory school age, whose attendance has been unsatisfactory, to pay a penalty, currently £60.00 if paid within 21 days or £120.00 if paid within 28 days. If the Penalty Notice is not paid the case is automatically summonsed to appear in Court. Courts have a wider range of sentencing options, which could include a maximum fine of up to £1000.

We operate a First Response System. If a child is absent and we receive no explanation from parents, we will phone parents by 10:00am to ascertain why a child is not at school. We are required by law to count any unexplained absences as unauthorised. A record is kept of a child’s attendance including all absences is included in our annual report to parents. Figures for the whole school are reported to the Department of Education and Local Authority.

Illness

Absence through Illness cannot be avoided at times. If your child is too ill to attend school you should inform the office before 9:30am on the first day of illness and daily thereafter unless an absence period is specified.

Medical Appointments 

There may be occasions where a pupil needs to attend a hospital appointment. If possible please aim to book these so they do not interfere with the school day. An official appointment letter should be supplied to the school office. Dentist and non- emergency doctor's appointments should be booked outside of the school day. 

Lateness collecting at the end of the day

We recognise that there are occasions where parents are delayed , through no fault of their own e.g traffic jams. Please contact the school office if you are delayed. Staff may not be available after school to supervise your child therefore your child may be placed in the after school club , which would result normal after school club charges being applied. Repeated late collection may lead to safeguarding concerns. 

Advice and Support

If you require any attendance advice we are here to help and support you. In the first instance speak to your child's class teacher who will be able to signpost to relevant resources or further support from our pastoral team.