Attendance

We pride ourselves on the good attendance of our children and at all times encourage children and parents to be punctual.  Good attendance and punctuality are vital to prepare children for the future and ensure they make good progress.

If your child is going to be late, please inform the school office on the first day of absence before 9.30am.  This can be done by telephoning the school or sending an e-mail.  If we don't hear from you before 9.30am then the school office staff will be in touch with you to confirm the absence.

Please see our Attendance Policy for further details - available from the 'Policies' section of the website.

Term Time Leave of Absence:

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended by Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2013 state:

Head Teachers shall not grant any leave of absence during term time unless:

• An application has been made in advance, by the parent with whom the child normally resides AND
• They consider there to be exceptional circumstances relating to the application.

It is not possible to produce a list of what is considered an exceptional circumstance. All requests are treated on an individual basis.

Examples of circumstances that may not be considered exceptional are:

• Availability of cheap holidays and cheap travel arrangements
• Days overlapping with the beginning or end of term

To make an application for leave of absence during term time, the form below must be completed and submitted  at least two weeks in advance of the requested dates giving detailed reasons for the request.

Applications cannot be granted retrospectively.

Penalty Notices - Guide for Parents:

Penalty Notices are fixed penalty fines which can be issued to parents and carers in relation to unauthorised absence of their children from school.

Penalty Notices can be issued as a result of unauthorised absence from school. This can include absences for the purpose of leisure and recreation (for example a holiday in term time). Penalty Notices are also used to address patterns of poor attendance including late arrival at school after the close of registration. In those cases, a Penalty Notice will normally only be issued if further unauthorised absences have occurred after the parent/carer has been served with a formal Notice to Improve.

When Penalty Notices can be issued

Penalty Notices can be issued if there are at least 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10-school week period. This is the equivalent of 5 school days missed, as there are 2 registration sessions every day.

Cost of Penalty Notices

Penalty Notices are normally issued to each parent/carer by post. You must make payment to the council.

The amount of the fine depends on whether any previous Penalty Notices have been issued to the parent/carer for the same child for unauthorised absences which took place after 19 August 2024, but within a period of 3 years from the current fine.

If this is the first such Penalty Notice, the fine is:

• £80 if paid within 21 days
• £160 if paid between 22 and 28 days
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If this is the second Penalty Notice you've received, the fine is at a single rate of £160, payable within 28 days.

If third or subsequent offences occur within a rolling 3-year period, the council will not issue a further Penalty Notice. Instead, you're likely to face prosecution in the Magistrates’ court.