Attendance
Regular and punctual school attendance is very important and we know from many studies that children who attend well do better in school. Our learning mentor tracks all children’s attendance and will discuss with any families any concerns about absence.
Holidays
In September 2013 the rules around absence from school were changed by the Department for Education (DfE). There is no longer any entitlement to absence due to holidays. Headteachers and Governors can only consider absence during term time, where the absence is for exceptional reasons. All planned absence must be agreed in advance and families are advised that unauthorised absence may incur a fine of £60 which rises to £120 if not paid promptly. If you wish your child to be considered for absence during term time, you are asked to fill in the form below with as much information as possible.
Exceptional Leave Request Form
Illness
From time to time children may need to be absent from school due to ill health. We would encourage all families to try to keep absence due to ill health to a minimum. We are allowed to administer medicines or other medication which has been prescribed by a doctor and we are always willing to support families who have brought children to school when they are a little under the weather. We are happy to phone families if a child deteriorates and are also very happy to welcome parents and carers who want to see their child at lunchtime and administer a further dose of paracetamol or similar product.
Unauthorised / Authorised absence.
There are occasionally times when we can authorise a child being absent from school for a legitimate reason. Please note that we cannot authorise absence due to another family member’s illness, headlice, or a sporting fixture. We are keen to help children be at school every day, so if there is an exceptional case where you need help to get a child to school please contact us.
If your child is away from school, we would ask that you contact the school office on 0113 2554972 and let us know. If we have not heard from you regarding your child’s absence from school we will phone or text you. At regular intervals, if we have any unexplained absences for your child, we will send home a letter which asks you to explain why your child was away.
