Proud to be part of QEGSMAT
Question,
Explore,
Give,
Succeed

Absence

Regular attendance at school is extremely important if your child is to make good progress; parents/ carers are responsible for getting their children to school every day on time. As a school we aim for 96.1% attendance in line with government and national expectations.

If your child is ill and absent from school then parents/ carers are asked to take the following action:

 

Reporting Absence

Please telephone the school office on 01283 217855 by 8.50am where you can speak to a member of staff or leave a message on the school answerphone.

Please leave the following details:

Your child’s name

Reason for absence

Expected date of return or please phone daily until your child is ready to return if that is uncertain.

 

Punctuality

The school day starts promptly at 8:50 am and gates are open from 8.40am.

It is important that your child is not late and starts the day with the rest of the class. If your child is likely to arrive at school after 8.50am please let us know.

 

Authorised and Unauthorised  Absences

Authorised absences cover:

*Illness – on occasion school may ask for a doctor’s note to confirm this

*Dental/medical appointments that cannot be made out of school hours

*A day of religious observance

*Family bereavement

*Absence due to ‘exceptional circumstances’ if approved by the Headteacher and within the guidelines of local authority (family holidays are NOT regarded as exceptional).

 

Unauthorised absences cover:

*Days overlapping with beginning or end of term

*Birthdays

*Family holidays

*Absences taken without prior approval

*Late arrival after the register has closed (8.55am)

 

Unauthorised absences, where the school has not given permission for the pupil to be absent, are classed as truancy and can result in a fixed penalty notice.  Unauthorised absences will be referred to the Education Welfare Service .

 

 

 

 

Absence due to Exceptionial Circumstances in Term Time

Our policy regarding attendance and absences from school in term time has been written in line with statutory guidance and regulations.

In line with government guidelines any leave of absence can only be for exceptional reasons and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please write to the Headteacher if you wish to ask for any leave of absence.

As a parent you can only apply for an absence in term time if there are exceptional circumstances. The application MUST be made in writing on a school form (available from the office), explaining the reasons for the absence, to the Headteacher at least two weeks before to allow time for a decision to be made and notification of that decision given.

It should be noted that no leave of absence will be authorised during the months of September and May.

 

Persistent Absence

‘Persistent absence’ refers to absence of more than 10% during any given school year, or actual attendance of less than 90% – regardless of what the absences were for. Persistent Absentees are closely monitored by the Inclusion Mentor and passed to the Education Welfare Service for further action if required.

 

As a school we take absence from school very seriously as it can lead to vital learning being missed. Once your child’s attendance dips below 95% you will receive an initial letter from our Inclusion Mentor, notifying you that your child’s attendance needs to improve.  If it does not, a further referral will be made to the Education Welfare Office which could ultimately lead to prosecution.

 

Ofsted

Ofsted Inspectors look very closely at attendance figures when making judgments about schools, as the outcomes for pupils can be significantly affected by low attendance.

 

If your child has achieved 97% attendance they will have missed just over a week—or 5 days of education.

The chart below shows the effect of education lost through absences.

 

 

Percentage Weeks absent from school
95% 2
90% 4
85% 5.5
80% 7.5
75% 9.5

© 2024 Springfield Junior School Made by CODA Education

Springfield Junior School