Attendance
Parents are responsible for making sure their children attend school regularly and on time.
You may already be aware that the Department for Education (DfE) released new statutory guidance in February 2024, ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ which applies from 19th August 2024. The new legislation behind this guidance is The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.
Once a child is enrolled at a school, parents/carers are by law responsible for ensuring they attend school regularly. The new statutory guidance has created a legal obligation for all schools to promote attendance positively, take early action to prevent absence occurring and offer support to families when exploring absence from school to secure the child’s right to access their education. It also emphasises the importance of good attendance being a key driver for learning, achievement, and personal success but whilst recognising that often, support is required to achieve good attendance.
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, as after 5 days, we are unable to retrospectively authorise absence that has occurred so it would be recorded as unauthorised absence and must remain so. Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation would not be an exceptional circumstance. The ‘H’ code (authorised holiday) will no longer exist in the new absence codes, to reflect the change in policy. If you take your child out of school without permission this may lead to enforcement action (penalty notice or prosecution).
National Thresholds
From September 2024, schools will need to consider a Penalty Notice 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.
In September 2024, Penalty Notices (fines) charged to parents will rise to £80 (if paid within 21 days)
or £160 (if paid within between 22 and 28 days). Where a penalty notice is unpaid, legal action would
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 would be considered.
Long-Term Sickness to be Flagged with Local Authorities
Schools will have to give councils the name and address of sick pupils who they believe will miss 15 consecutive or cumulative days. 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”. But it is “important to note that these pupils are still expected to attend school regularly”.
GOV.uk Statutory Guidance on Schools Attendance and Absence
GCC - Attendance & Absence From School Website