Attendance and Absence

There is an expectation that every pupil attends school for 100% of the school year unless prevented due to medical issues. The Education Act 1996 requires parents or guardians to ensure their children receive a full-time education by regular attendance at a school or by other arrangements. Regular and punctual school attendance is of vital importance in ensuring that all students have full access to the curriculum. Valuable learning time is lost when children are absent or late.

Students should be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. 

Please remember that absence from school can seriously disrupt your child’s continuity of learning. Not only do they miss the teaching provided on the days they are away, they are also less prepared for lessons upon their return. There is a consequent risk of under-achievement, which together we must seek to avoid. Absence from school will only be authorised under exceptional circumstances. Term time holidays cannot be authorised.

The Department for Education has introduced new statutory guidance, effective from August 2024, aimed at reducing term-time holidays and unauthorised absences and supporting families whose children are struggling to attend school.

The new guidance notes that 'improving attendance is everyone’s business’, and we will work together in partnership with a ‘Support First’ ethos. This recognises that ‘the barriers to accessing education are wide and complex, both within and beyond the school gates, and are often specific to individual pupils and families.

Where voluntary support has not been effective and/or has not been engaged with, we are directed to formalise and intensify support. As part of the measures introduced,

If a pupil has 10 or more unauthorised absences within 10 school weeks, the pupil’s parent(s)/carer(s) may receive a ‘Notice to Improve’ by the local authority. Each day of absence is recorded as two sessions (morning and afternoon).

Unauthorised absences include:

• Unauthorised absence (where there is no reasonable circumstance for the absence taking place),
• Arriving late after the register has closed,
• A combination of these with holidays taken during term time.

These 10 weeks can span different terms, academic years, and even different educational settings, such as transitions to secondary school or in-year school changes. For instance, if your child misses 3 days of school for a holiday in July (6 sessions) and is late after the register closes on 4 occasions (4 sessions) between September and October, you may be issued a ‘Notice to Improve’ notification.

The ‘Notice to Improve’ notification will set out the expectations, and period notice, for the improvement of attendance such as 'no further unauthorised absences'. Should the expectations not be met in the improvement period, then a Penalty Notice may then be issued by the LA to each parent/carer responsible for the child.

Any holiday-related absence taken that includes 10 sessions in 10 weeks, may result in a Penalty Notice. In this instance, a ‘Notice to Improve’ notification will not be issued by the LA beforehand. The penalty amount is increasing to £160 from September (reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days for the first offence). If a parent receives a second penalty notice within a rolling three-year period, the fine is £160 and there is no option to pay the fine at a reduced rate.

Parents with parental responsibility, and adults residing with the child, including for example, step-parents who have day-to-day responsibility for the child, may be fined, and this appliesto each child who is absent.

The government recognise these Penalty Notices may be unpopular with families. Nationally, Headteachers are:

• Not permitted to approve term-time holidays except in genuinely exceptional circumstances, and
• Are to consider each application for a leave of absence, individually, before deciding.

The law expects Headteachers to enforce these penalties strictly. The new policy also states that all schools must consider issuing Penalty Notices if the criteria is met. This is a national statutory process and all English state funded schools have been directed to follow this. DfE's penalty notice information:

https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/legal-action-to-enforce-school-attendance

Mr Shaw's letter to parents regarding penalty notices, see link below:

https://thomaskeble.ovw6.devwebsite.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=1964&type=pdf

Reporting Absence

The attendance officer at our school monitors pupil absence on a daily basis. A pupil’s parent/carer is expected to call the school in the morning if their child is going to be absent due to ill health.

Parents/Guardians can notify the school by:

1. Phone: 01452 770301

2. Email: attendance@thomaskeble.gloucs.sch.uk

3. "Report an Absence" on the School Gateway .

Parents must call on the morning of every subsequent day of illness If a pupil’s absence continues to rise after contacting their parent/carer, we will consider involving our student welfare officer.

Persistent Absence

The persistent absence threshold is 10%.

If a pupil's individual overall absence rate is greater than or equal to 10%, the pupil will be classified as a persistent absentee.

Pupil-level absence data will be collected each term and published at national and local authority level through the DfE's school absence national statistics releases. The underlying school-level absence data is published alongside the national statistics. The school will compare attendance data to the national average, and share this with the governing board.

Authorised Absence

Attending a medical or dental appointment will be counted as authorised as long as the pupil’s parent/carer notifies the school in advance of the appointment. Parents/carers must contact the school or provide a note to confirm any medical appointment. Pupils cannot be released from school until we have confirmation from a parent. Copies of original documents may be requested.

The headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to pupils during term time if they consider there to be 'exceptional circumstances'. A leave of absence is granted at the headteacher’s discretion. It is important to note that the fundamental principles for defining ‘exceptional’ are rare, significant, or unavoidable, which means that the event could not be reasonably scheduled at another time The school considers each application for term-time absence individually, considering the specific facts, circumstances and relevant context behind the request.

Parents wishing to apply for leave of absence need to either:

1. Download, complete and return to school the PDF request form below in advance.

2. Complete the e-form link below.