Attendance

Being in school and having the best attendance possible underpins all the many benefits of school for your child, such as their learning, wellbeing and wider development.

What are my responsibilities for my child’s attendance?

As a parent, you are legally responsible for making sure your child gets a suitable fulltime education. For most parents, this will mean making sure your child is in school every day except when:

- Your child is too ill to go to school.

- You have permission for a leave of absence from your child’s school for them not to attend. You should only ask for this in exceptional circumstances.

- Your religious body has a day especially for religious observance.

If my child needs to be absent from school, what do I need to do?

You should contact school as early as possible on the first day of absence to explain why on 01604 761469. If you do not, we will contact you on the first morning of their absence to find out why your child is not in school.

My child has a short term illness. Do they have to go to school, and will I be penalised if they don’t?

If your child is ill, read the NHS advice Is my child too ill for school? - NHS to help you decide whether they can go to school. If they are too ill to attend, you are not breaking the law and will not be penalised. You should let us know as soon as possible on the first day of absence and we will record such absences as authorised. If the absence due to illness is ongoing or frequent you should speak to us to see what support can be put in place.

What should I do if my child needs a dental or medical appointment in school time?

To avoid disruption to your child’s attendance, medical and dental appointments should not be booked during the school day whenever reasonably possible. When they are, you should ask the school in advance for a leave of absence and collect them as close to the time of the appointment as possible and return them to school for the rest of the school day afterwards. 

My child is struggling to attend because of an issue in school. Who can help us?

The first step is to talk to us about why your child is missing school, and what help the school can give. You should still do everything you can to help your child attend as much as possible whilst waiting for help and support to be put into place. Our family support worker, Mrs Holton works with families to support attendance.  She can be contacted on 01604 761469.

If a attendance contract is needed we will agree a set of joint actions with the school that you have all developed together to support your child. This will often include a commitment to support you and your child by working together or help you to access support services in exchange for an agreement from you (and your child if they are old enough to understand) to take part in the support offered. We will also arrange times for you to come together to review these actions and your child’s progress. Depending on the reasons for your child’s absence, this may take the form of an action plan, an early help plan, or a parenting contract.

My child has a long term illness, special educational needs or a disability that is impacting their attendance. What help is available?

If your child is regularly absent from school because of illness (regardless of whether it is mental or physical) or special educational needs or a disability, they have the same right to a suitable full-time education as any other child.

We  will arrange to meet to discuss the reasons and make sure the right support is in place. All schools are expected to provide support in these cases.

We will look at the range of reasonable adjustments that we can make to support your child.  These could include adjustments to uniform, transport, routines, access to support or lunchtime arrangements.

- Ensure your child receives the right pastoral care and in certain cases consider a time-limited phased return to school where appropriate, for example for those who have anxiety about school attendance.

- Work jointly with other services including your local council and health services.

- For pupils with a long-term medical condition – either physical or mental – schools are also expected to make attendance support a key feature of any individual healthcare plan.

- For pupils with Education, Health and Care plans - ensure access to any provision outlined within the plan.

Where can I get help if my child is too anxious to go to school?

Attending school usually helps to protect your child’s mental health, for a range of reasons including giving them a chance to be with friends and to benefit from learning. However, some children can be anxious or worried about going to school, particularly around the start of the new year or joining a new school or class. This is a normal emotion, and not necessarily indicative of an underlying mental health condition.

If their anxiety continues and becomes an attendance issue, please speak with our family support worker together with your child about why they are anxious and what can be done.

You can find some useful advice at Young Minds School Anxiety and Refusal | Parent Guide to Support | YoungMinds, to help work through likely reasons together with your child, what to do and how to make sure that you get the right support if there are more serious issues.

Will my local council take legal action against me?

If your child is absent from school without permission or a valid reason, you are likely to be breaking the law. Where this happens, your child’s school or your local council will speak to you to understand the reasons. If your child hasn’t attended because they are struggling to, both school and your local council are expected to put the right support in place to help you.

If you do not take part in that support, or it doesn’t work because more structured formal support is needed, then school or your local council may:

- Invite you to agree to a parenting contract. This is not a punishment or a criticism of your parenting. It is a more formal action plan that sets out what you will do to improve your child’s attendance and what your child’s school and/or your local council will do to support this.

- Apply to the family court for an education supervision order to ensure you and your child receive advice, assistance and direction to make sure they receive a suitable full-time education.

If you do not make any efforts to improve your child’s attendance or it is clear you have knowingly allowed your child to be absent without good reason – for example, taking your child on holiday in school time without permission – your local council may prosecute you to protect your child’s right to a full-time education. Even during this process, you have the opportunity to accept and engage in voluntary support (such as an early help assessment) or formal support (such as a parenting contract or education supervision order) to prevent the case from going to court. If found guilty you may be given a parenting order, community order, a fine of up to £2,500 or in very exceptional circumstances a sentence of up to 3 months in prison.

 Good attendance is your child’s superhero power! 

Every school day is an adventure, filled with learning, friendship and fun. Help your child unlock their full potential by ensuring they attend school every day.

 Every day in school helps them soar higher!