Parents of a child of compulsory school age have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child receives sufficient and suitable full-time education, either at school or otherwise. If the child is registered at a school, parents must ensure regular attendance and punctuality. The Local Education Authority has a legal duty to see that these statutory obligations are met.

The Education Welfare Service, on behalf of the Authority, seeks to help parents resolve poor attendance. Parents are asked to seek early advice from the school or the Education Welfare Service if their child is beginning to experience difficulty in attending school. Help at an early stage is usually most effective.

Regular attendance is essential for a child to make satisfactory educational progress. It is the best way of ensuring greatest benefit from education and the way in which friendships are developed and membership of groups is formed. Punctuality is important to help a child become a dependable adult and, eventually, a reliable employee.

Children may have to stay away for illness or other exceptional reasons, but they should only be absent when it is absolutely essential. Your child's school or the Area Education Office can give advice on what reasons for absence are acceptable by law.

Taking children out of school for holidays is not a right. Only the school can authorise these absences. Absence will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances, at the sole discretion of the Headteacher. There is no right of appeal against this decision.

DCC may issue penalty notices to parents who do not ensure that their children are at school or where holidays are taken in term time without authorisation.

In September 2013 the Government introduced new regulations making it clear that Headteachers must not grant approval for any leave of absence during term-time, including holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Any requests for term-time leave should be made on an official school absence request form available from the school office and handed in 2 school weeks before the first date of the requested absence whenever possible. You must have received written authorisation before your child can be absent from school.

Parents/carers may be issued with a Penalty Notice fine or prosecution should leave of 5 days or more be taken which is not  authorised by the Headteacher, or where repeated incidents of leave in term time for less than 5 days occur or where the unauthorised absence contributes to wider poor attendance that meets the legal threshold. Absence deemed for the reason of unauthorised leave in term time will be marked in the register with the Attendance Code G.

You may be issued with a Penalty Notice should leave be taken which is not authorised. If unpaid this could lead to prosecution under section 444(1) of The Education Act 1996. 

When a child is absent, parents should notify school as soon as possible, giving the reason. Notifying the school of the reasons for absence is important so the school can determine in the register whether it is an authorised or unauthorised absence. The school office can be contacted by phone on 01332 831471.

If your child does not arrive at school in the morning and you have not let us know why, we will contact you by text to find out where they are. This is to ensure that they are safe and well.

Parents should be aware that there is a Government requirement to audit whole school attendance figures by adding authorised and unauthorised absences together. Should this joint figure be considered excessive, action will be taken by the Authority to improve attendance.