Absence Reporting

What to do if my child is absent?

You must inform the school of the reason for any absence by telephone/ email on each morning of absence by 9am.

School email address: office@pochin.bepschools.org      School telephone number: 0116 269 2078

All absences must be explained by a parent or carer on a daily basis. The school will then decide whether or not to authorise the absence.  The view of the Department for Education attendance expert is that “some think they’re being a good parent by keeping their child off school, if in doubt send them to school.  There is a difference between minor ailments and the sort of illness that warrants a day off.”

Some examples of unauthorised absence are:

• Waiting on a delivery
• Going shopping or for a hair cut
• A family day out
• A child’s birthday
• Sleeping in after a late night

Absence may be authorised due to:

• Sickness
• Unavoidable medical appointments
• Days of religious observance
• Exceptional family circumstances

If a student’s attendance becomes a cause for concern the school may ask parents to provide medical, or other suitable, evidence to substantiate their reasons before the absence can be authorised.

Absence  During Term Time

As a Headteacher I am unable to authorise absence unless there are exceptional circumstances.  Exceptional circumstances  may include, for example, occasions where the timing of an event is outside of your control, such as a family funeral, grandparent or other close relative is seriously ill and you must leave in an emergency. Where exceptional leave is agreed, one day authorised leave will normally be granted. Exceptional circumstances are events that are not going to occur again.  Family holidays do not meet this criteria.

If there are exceptional circumstances, parents are asked to write, giving a full explanation of the exceptional circumstances and provide evidence to support your application.  I will then write to you to tell you whether the absence can be authorised.

As a school we follow the Bradgate Education Trust Policy and guidelines and may  refer 10 or more unauthorised sessions (5 days) to Leicestershire County Council.  A penalty notice and fine may then be issued.

As a school we are working extremely hard to improve the educational experience for children in our school and to maximise their progress and leaning.  We ask that you continue to support us by ensuring that your children are in school during term time.

Requests for Absence from School in Exceptional Circumstances and Penalty Notices

You are required under the Education Act (1996) to ensure your child attends school regularly. If your child accrues 10 consecutive sessions of unauthorised absence you may be liable for a penalty notice (one days absence equals two sessions and a five day absence is equal to 10 sessions).

An unauthorised absence is any absence that the Head teacher has not given permission for or where an explanation has not been provided by the parents.

Parents must complete a request for absence from school in exceptional circumstances form and submit this to the school, allowing for sufficient time to enable the school to consider the request and inform parents of the decision.

If your request is declined or you do not follow the correct procedure and you still take your child out of school each parent within your household may be issued with a £60 penalty notice for each child you have taken out of school. If a penalty notice remains unpaid after 21 days it will increase to £120. If after 28 days it remains unpaid you may be summonsed to appear before Magistrates to explain why your child has unauthorised school absences and you may be liable for a fine of up to £1000.

Attendance 

Our target for every pupil is that over the whole year they achieve 100% attendance, that is no more than 5 days off in a year. The Government’s national expectation is 96%, the equivalent of 7 days absence in a year. The following table shows the number of days off for each equivalent %.

As a school we are working very hard to make sure children do not have gaps in their understanding particularly in maths and literacy. Parents are reminded that they should not book holidays in term time as this has a significant effect on a child’s progress.

School Attendance Target  2023/2024

Our target for attendance this year is 100%.  Evidence shows that good attendance is a key factor in enabling children to reach their potential.  Our attendance is good and we are committed to working with parents to ensure it remains good and continues to improve.

2020-2021 our overall attendance was 97.7%

2021-2022 our overall attendance was 94.6%

2022-2023 our overall attendance was 95.9%

Punctuality

A child will receive a late mark if they arrive within 30 minutes after the registration time. If a child arrives more than 30 minutes after registration this will be recorded as unauthorised absence.

Morning registration is 8:45am. 8:46-9:15am late mark will be entered.

Afternoon registration is 1pm. 1-1:30pm late mark will be entered.

 

Attendance Policy

Pochin Attendance Policy 2023 2024

Exceptional Leave Request Form 2023