Attendance
Attendance
It is our belief that high levels of absence will limit the ability of pupils to make the progress they are capable of and that high attendance will lead to an increase in progress. For this reason, our expected level of attendance is 100%. Children are therefore expected to attend school each day, unless they are unwell or in exceptional circumstances which have been notified in advance and authorised by the Executive Headteacher.
Under section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996, parents have a duty to ensure that their children receive an appropriate education.
As our expected level of attendance is 100%, only the Headteacher can authorise absence. To do this a reason for the absence is required, for example, illness or a family funeral. If parents feel there are other genuine reasons to request a child’s absence, this must be put in writing to the Headteacher using a generic 'absence request form' which can be found in our policy, or collected from the School Office. Once received, the Head Teacher will make a decision regarding the request dependent on the circumstances and the child’s current attendance level. This decision may be made following consultation with the school ‘attendance panel’, comprising at least one member of the governing body and members of the Senior Leadership Team should the request be unique in nature.
The school will not be able to authorise holidays in term time. For more information about the changes in holiday fines, please see the leaflet below:
