Leave of Absence during Term Time

Regular attendance at school promotes children's well-being and gives them the best chance of learning and reaching their potential. Children should attend school every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.

Good attendance is important because pupils:

• Get on better with learning and other children;
• Cope better with school routines, work and friendships;
• Find learning easier because they do not miss out;
• Are more successful moving between primary school, secondary school, higher education and employment or training;
• Are known to be safe and well by us.

Research shows a direct link between high attendance and doing well at school.

All children have the right to an education.

We encourage and expect 100% attendance for all children. 

If you are concerned about your child’s attendance contact the school and talk to someone about it.

Parents:

• By law, must ensure that their child attends school;
• Should arrange dental and doctor’s appointments out of school hours or during school holidays, whenever possible;
• Make sure that their child arrives on time 8:40am (Reception) and 8:45am (Key Stage 1), when classroom doors are open;
  • or if they arrive after 8:50am, sign-in at the school office;
• Should contact the school on the first day their child is away from school by 10am.

There are 175 days of the year to spend on family time, celebrations, visits, shopping, holidays, household jobs and other appointments.

• Don’t let your child miss out on the education they deserve.
• Every school day counts.
• Aim for 97% minimum attendance.

If you are concerned about your child’s attendance contact the school and talk to someone about it.

Children should arrive and be collected from school on time:

• Registration is at 8:40am, for all children from Reception and 8:45am for children in Year 1 and 2.  Children will be greeted by their class teacher at the entrance to the classroom area.
• Registration closes at 9:30am, arrival after this time is an 'unauthorised absence' late arrival can cause children to feel anxious or upset;
• Reception children are collected at 3:10am and Year 1 and 2 children are collected at 3:15pm.
• We take the view there are no late children, only late parents;
• We contact parents of pupils who have patterns of lateness to talk about how to arrive and/or be collected on time. Mrs Salmon will make initial contact and if attendance/punctuality doesn't improve parents will be asked to meet with a member of the Leadership Team.

At Galley Common Infant School we will:

• Tell pupils and parents the importance of being at school;
• Check that pupils are at school every day;
• Follow up and check the absence of persistent non-attenders;
  • Phone home on the first day of absence to check where absent children are
  • Follow up an explained absence by phone call and email, and meetings for persistent absentees
• Aim for an attendance rate of at least 96%. Pupils who are under school age, in Nursery or Reception, are treated in the same way as all other children;
• Monitor school attendance data of individual and groups and target our support towards removing barriers to attendance for individuals and groups who need it most;
• Discuss poor attendance with parents to understand any barriers the pupil or family might be facing;
• Facilitate support for families to help remove identified barriers to attendance. This could include support through the local authority attendance team or access to early help.
• Where absent persists and support offered is not being engaged with, we will communicate the consequences to parents. 
• When all avenues of support have been exhausted and support has not worked or being engaged with, the Local Authority can enforce attendance through a statutory intervention or prosecution to protect a pupil's right to an education;
• Share and discuss attendance data with the Governing Board on a termly basis.

The Law

Parents have a legal duty to ensure that their children are properly educated.  When your child is registered at a school, parents, carers or guardians must ensure the regular and full-time attendance of their child.  The Local Authority has the power to issue Fixed-Penalty Notices in respect of unauthorised absences.  Penalty notices can be issued to each parent and for each child.  The Penalty is £120 payable within 28 days, reducing to £60 if paid within 21 days.  (Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2004). If holiday absence is repeated, matters can increase and fines can be increased to both parents.

For term-time pupil absences, the Education (pupil registration) (England) (amendment) Regulations 2013, which came into force on 1 September 2013, removed all references to ‘family holidays’ and ‘extended leave’ as well as the ‘notional threshold of 10 school days’ authorised absence.

The 2013 amendments made it clear that head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’. The regulations also state that head teachers should determine the number of school days a pupil can be away from school if leave is given for ‘exceptional circumstances’.

For further information regarding school attendance please follow the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence