When does my child need to be in school?
Your child should be at school in good time for registration. The morning register will be called promptly at 8.45am and the afternoon register at 1.00pm.
What happens if my child is late?
Registration is at 8.45am in the morning and 1.00pm in the afternoon.
If your child arrives between 8.45 and 9.00am he/she will be marked late.
If your child arrives after 9.00am he/she will be marked absent.
If your child arrives between 1.00pm and 1.15pm he/she will be marked late.
If your child arrives after 1.15pm he/she will be marked absent.
Pupils who arrive after registration should report to the school office, and sign the Late Book. If a pupil is late on more than 3 occasions in a half term a meeting may be arranged with the Attendance Officer to discuss reasons/difficulties for lateness.
Will a phone call explaining my child’s absence suffice?
We would expect a parent to telephone the school on the first day of absence. If you do not phone us, we will phone you. We would expect a phone call on each morning of the absence unless we have been informed of a medical issue that meant the child could not return to school within 3 days. See Illness Procedures for more details.
If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will not authorise the absence, and this will be shown on your child’s end of year report.
What reasons will the school accept for absences?
Except in the case of illness, you should ask for permission for your child to miss school well in advance, giving full details. In cases of recurring absences through illness you may be asked to produce a medical certificate.
What is unacceptable?
The school will not authorise absence for day trips, visiting relatives, shopping, birthdays or looking after brothers or sisters, etc.
Will the school contact me if my child is absent?
The school operates a first day response to absences: we will phone you if we have not heard from you. This is because we believe it is our responsibility to ensure your child’s safety as well as their regular school attendance.
If we are concerned about aspects of your child’s attendance or punctuality we will contact you to discuss the best way forward.
I am thinking about sending my child on an extended absence for an overseas trip to visit relatives. What should I do?
Unless a parent is a member of their country's Armed Forces, the school will not authorise this absence, and even then each case will be taken on it's own merit. Even though we recognise that the expense is likely to be much higher, we ask that these trips be taken in conjunction with the school's official holiday periods. Please note that even for Armed Services absence, the school will not authorise absences that will take place during your child’s SATs month.
What can I do to encourage my child to attend school?
Make sure your child gets enough sleep and gets up in plenty of time each morning. Ensure that he/she leaves home in the correct clothes and properly equipped. Show your child, by your interest, that you value his/her education. Your child should bring his/her home-school book and reading book home each evening. Please ensure you look at them with your child and sign it ready for the next day.
My child is trying to avoid coming to school. What should I do?
Contact your child’s class teacher immediately and openly discuss your worries. Your child could be avoiding school for a number of reasons – difficulties with school work, bullying, friendship problems, family difficulties. It is important that we identify the reason for your child’s reluctance to attend school and work together to tackle the problem.
In some cases you may find it helpful to discuss the circumstances of your child’s difficulties with an Education Welfare Officer. The school may also refer you to an Education Welfare Officer who works with staff and families if difficulties with attendance arise. The Education Attendance Service is based at:
Area Education Welfare Office
Bottisham Locality Childrens Centre, 19 Lode Road, Bottisham, CB25 9DJ
Tel: 01223 475 900
Medical: Any medical appointments must be verified with evidence such as an appointment card or prescription. Where medical appointments are made at the beginning of school, please ask for an appointment card to bring into school when your child returns –doctors receptionists will very quickly get used to this request as all authorities’ Education Welfare Officers are giving schools the same advice regarding appointments.
If you wish to request authorisation of a pupil absence due to exceptional circumstances please click here (Virtual Office - Holidays) for further information and for a copy of our Absence Request Form.
Statutory Duty for Attendance from 19.08.20204 - Information for Parents
The Department for Education has issued new statutory guidance for attendance called Working Together to Improve School Attendance. This comes into effect on the 19th August 2024. It details what schools, parents and Local Authorities should do to improve pupils’ attendance at school.
There are some important changes to attendance management from the 19th August 2024 which will affect the support parents and pupils receive from schools, and the legal sanctions that are used in certain circumstances.
Schools are legally obliged to provide support and intervention for pupils who are at risk of persistent absence (90% attendance or below). This will take the form of meetings with parents, school-based interventions, and the offer of support from outside agencies and professionals.
Schools are very keen to identify the barriers to attendance that families face and will welcome opportunities to overcome these barriers together. However, when a child's attendance falls outside of the parental legal obligations to send their child to school, there are legal pathways that must be followed.
Changes to Penalty Notices:
Term Time Leave
If a pupil takes unauthorised term time leave for 10 consecutive sessions or more (generally 5 days) they will be subject to a penalty notice. The fine for a penalty notice is increasing - to £80 per parent, per child. This increases to £160 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days for pupils who are of statutory school age. If a penalty notice remains unpaid, parents may be the subject of court proceedings for failing to ensure the regular school attendance of their child and this could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 3 months per parent.
For second offences of unauthorised term time leave (10 consecutive sessions or more) within a three-year rolling period, the fine is a flat £160 per parent, per child.
For the third offence in a three-year rolling period, the referral will be automatically considered for prosecution in relation to Section 444 Education Act 1996.
These fines will apply to term time leave taken after 19th August 2024. Any penalty notice issued for any offence that begins prior to the 19th of August will be issued under the previous rules. The new rules only apply if children are absent from school from the new term starting in September.
The three-year rolling period begins from the date the first PN fine is issued to the parent after 19th of August 2024. Any PN fine issued to parents before this date does not count towards the 'three-year rolling period' rule.
Irregular School Attendance Over Time
If a parent is willing to support their child and the school in improving school attendance, and engage with school to achieve this, an Attendance Contract will be offered. This is a way of school and parents working together to improve attendance in a supportive and nurturing way. Having an Attendance Contract in place will mean regular informal meetings to identify any barriers to a pupil’s attendance and discuss what support can put in place to overcome those barriers.
If a parent is not engaging with any offers of support from school, and attendance continues to decline, the school may use a different method of support, called a Notice to Improve. This is a last effort to engage parents before legal sanctions are considered. A Notice to Improve will be a formal collaboration between the school, the Local Authority and parents.
If these attempts at formal support fail, and a pupil’s attendance continues to be a concern, the school will make a referral to the Local Authority for legal sanctions to be considered. If a pupil has unauthorised absences for ten sessions or more in a 10-week period, the school may refer a parent for a penalty notice. This will be charged at £80 per parent, per child. This increases to £160 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days for pupils who are of statutory school age. If a penalty notice remains unpaid, parents may be the subject of court proceedings for failing to ensure the regular school attendance of their child and this could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to three months per parent.
Requests for Absence
Requests for absence should be made by parents in line with the school’s Attendance Policy. This will be in written form with the date of the proposed absence and as much detail as possible about the reason for the absence. As is currently the case, Headteachers may still only authorise absence that they consider to be an unavoidable and exceptional circumstance. The school will reply to parents to advise them whether the absence will be authorised or not.
Attendance Policies
Attendance policies will be updated to reflect these changes in due course. However, please accept this information as prior notice of the changes which will come into effect from the start of the school academic year in schools. These changes apply to all attendance from 19th August 2024. Schools, Local Authorities and the DfE will update all material related to attendance over the coming weeks.