Attendance and absence
We internally monitor our children's attendance every 4 weeks and regularly contact parents/carers if a child's attendance falls below 95%. This will either be a phone call from Mrs. Longstaff/Mr. Pickup or a posted letter. We celebrate good attendance and punctuality for the children weekly in our celebration assembly . We also have termly and annual attendance rewards for both children and their parents/ carers.
Absences
We must record every half-day absence as AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. This is why we always need information about the cause of any absence. Types of absence that are likely to be authorised are illness, emergencies, medical or dental appointments that unavoidably fall in school time.
Only schools can authorise an absence. Parents/carers do not have this authority.
Consequently, not all absences supported by parents/carers will be classified as authorised.
Unauthorised absence
An absence is classified as unauthorised when a child is away from school without the permission of the school.
Examples of types of absence that are not considered reasonable, and which will not be authorised under any circumstances are:
- Going shopping with parents, birthdays.
- Sibling unwell.
- Staying at home because other members in the family are unwell.
- Day trips and holidays in term time.
- Arriving at school too late to get a present mark (after the close of registration).
- Truancy.
In some cases, we may change an authorised absence to an unauthorised absence and vice versa if new information is presented. An example of this would be where a parent states a child is unwell but there is subsequent evidence they have been on holiday. We will communicate any such change to parents/carers.
Is my child too ill for school?
It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school when they're unwell.
There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about health protection and managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn't.
If you do keep your child at home, it's important to contact us on the first day, let us know that your child won't be in and give us the reason.
Holidays in term time
Any request for leave of absence due to holidays in term time will not be authorised. The DfE does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreational circumstance, and therefore there is no entitlement in law to time off in term time. Young people who are absent from school fall behind in their learning. They miss out on school events. Many find it difficult to catch up. In addition, school staff have to divert their attention away from other young people in order to support those that have fallen behind due to a holiday related absence.
In the case of unauthorised leave of absences, incurring 10 or more unauthorised sessions (5 days) within 10 school weeks, consideration will be given if a referral should be made to the Local Authority for a fixed penalty notice to be issued or prosecution where repeated penalty notices have been issued. Where the threshold has not been met in the case of persistent avoidance, for example, repeated absence for birthdays or other family events, the school will have discretion to refer the case to the Local Authority. If in an individual case the Local Authority believes a penalty notice would be appropriate, they retain the discretion to issue one before the threshold is met.
For further information please see our attendance policy or contact school on 0191 2674533 or e-mail office@newburnmps.co.uk