Attendance

Parents are responsible for making sure their children attend school regularly and on time.

Requests for Leave of Absence
Parents must request permission in advance from school for leave of absence for any reason, including
holidays. Head Teachers cannot grant leave during term time unless there are exceptional
circumstances and cannot grant permission retrospectively.  It is also important that you are aware that in the case of illness/emergency, you notify school of the absence at the earliest opportunity.  Where sufficient information or evidence is not provided, the school may be unable to authorise the absence in accordance with DfE attendance guidance.

Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation would not be an exceptional circumstance. If you take your child out of school without permission this may lead to enforcement action (penalty notice or prosecution).  

National Thresholds
The school and local authority will consider whether a Penalty Notice is appropriate in line with national and local guidance if a pupil misses 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. Half of a day (am or pm) is considered as a ‘session’. Schools should “not have a blanket position of issuing or not issuing penalty notices”. The threshold can be met with “any combination of unauthorised absence”. For example, four sessions in term time plus six instances of arriving late.  The ten school week period may span different terms or school years, for example: 2 sessions of unauthorised absence in the Summer Term and a further 8 in the Autumn term.

Penalty Notices
Under the new national framework, Fixed Penalty Notices will be considered when a child has missed
ten or more sessions (five days) due to unauthorised absence in a period of ten school weeks.  Under the current national framework, Penalty Notices (fines) are £80 if paid within 21 days and £160 if paid between days 22 and 28. Where a penalty notice is unpaid, legal action may be pursued.  Where a second Penalty Notice is issued to the same parent for the same child, the charge will be £160.  Under the new framework, only two penalty notices can be issued to the same parent for the same child within a three-year rolling period. If a third offence is committed within a three-year rolling period, legal action/prosecution may be considered.

Long-Term Sickness to be Flagged with Local Authorities

Schools will also be “expected to inform a pupil’s social worker and/or youth offending team worker if there are unexplained absences from school”.

Mental Health Awareness

All schools should now be particularly mindful of pupils absent from school due to mental or physical ill health or their special educational needs and/or disabilities and provide them with additional support.

The guidance acknowledges “many children will experience normal but difficult emotions that make them nervous about attending school, such as worries about friendships, schoolwork, examinations or variable moods”. 

GOV.uk Statutory Guidance on Schools Attendance and Absence

GCC - Attendance & Absence From School Website

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