Attendance statement:
The updated Department for Education guidance on school attendance came into force on 19 August 2024.
Working together to improve school attendance
It is essential that your child attends school regularly. The government places expectations on all parents / carers* to ensure that our children achieve good punctuality and attendance.
A significant amount of absence equates to lost learning, and the subsequent potential risk of lower grades a child is capable of. For example, a child with 80% attendance each year, loses a full year of learning in secondary by the time they finish their GCSEs in year 11, or a year and a term in primary by the time they complete year 6.
Please be aware of the following:
- The thresholds for enforcement for unauthorised absence have changed to 10 or more (morning and / or afternoon) sessions (equivalent of 5 full days) in a 10-week rolling period.
- Legislation states that our academy principals cannot authorise any leave of absence in school time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
- Holidays are not seen as exceptional circumstances for absence.
- Unauthorised absence may incur a penalty notice.
- Any penalty notice is overseen by and paid directly to the Local Authority; we do not benefit financially from fining.
Please be aware that:
- A parent is defined as anyone with parental responsibility (PR) including step-parents and those in households where the parents have separated / divorced but still retain PR*.
- From the start of academic year 2024-25 the penalty notice (fine) for unauthorised absence across the country is £80 per parent per child (if paid within 21 days) or £160 per parent per child if paid between Day 22 and 28.
- In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child(ren) within any three-year period this will be charged at the higher rate (£160) if paid within 28 days
- Fines per parent will be capped at two fines per parent in any three-year period. Once this threshold has been reached, other action such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered by the Local Authority.
- If you are prosecuted it is means that you will have to go to court. You could get a fine, a community order or in exceptional cases, be given a prison sentence of up to 3 months. The court could also issue you with a parenting order
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Where we believe that a child has been on holiday rather than absent through illness, and we therefore record the absence as unauthorised, we may request that a fixed penalty notice is issued by the Local Authority. The burden of proof to demonstrate otherwise rests with the parent.
As part of our wider duty of care, in accordance with the safeguarding guidance in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education,’ we will follow up any unexplained or unauthorised absence lasting for a number of consecutive days, with ‘safe and well’ contact checks.
We do understand that from time to time, it is not always possible to come to school due to illness. We would refer you to the NHS guidance (Health protection in education and childcare settings: exclusion table (khub.net) on illness absence before deciding to keep your child off school.
It would be extremely helpful to us (and your child) if medical and dental appointments can be made outside of academy hours. We can authorise absence if those unavoidable appointments in academy time are supported by evidence (which may be a text message from your GP or dental surgery).
As always, we appreciate your full support in ensuring that your child comes to our academy on time each day.
Note: * Section 576 of the Education Act 1996 defines a “parent” as:
all natural (biological) parents, whether they are married or not
any person who, although not a natural parent, has parental responsibility for a child or young person
any person who, although not a natural parent, has care of a child or young person
