Attendance and Absences

A telephone call is requested for all absences.   Notes must be forwarded if children are to be excused from games or swimming activities, or for visits to the clinic or hospital.

Any contagious diseases from which a child is suffering must be notified to the school.

Holidays taken in school time is time away from your child’s education.

The school’s attendance policy does not permit holidays in term time and parents run the risk of receiving a fine.

All children should be at school, on time, every day the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. 

All children are sometimes reluctant to attend school. Any problems that arise with attendance are best resolved between the school, the parents and the child. If a child is reluctant to attend, it is never better to cover up their absence or to give in to pressure to excuse them from attending. This gives the impression that attendance does not matter and may make things worse. Permitting absence from school without a good reason is an offence by the parent.

Schools have a duty in law to refer any absence of 10 days or more where they have been unable to make contact with the parent/child or have general concerns about the absence to the Education Welfare Officer/Local Support Team.

Schools are required to take an attendance register twice a day, and this shows whether the pupil is present, engaged in an approved educational activity off-site, or absent. If a pupil of compulsory school age is absent every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school, as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. Only school can authorise the absence, not parents. This is why information about the cause of each absence is always required, preferably in writing.

Parents will no doubt be aware that all schools are now subject to attendance targets and that any absence from school will need to be justified.

Good attendance is highlighted and children are rewarded both termly and annually for 100% attendance.