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Absence and Attendance

If your child is going to be absent from school, due to illness, please telephone the school office (01273 454066) by 9.10am on the first morning of the absence with the reason the child is not in school.  Alternatively, please download the Studybugs app to report your child's absence from school.  https://studybugs.com/about/parents   Any unexplained absences have, by law, to be noted and are regarded as truancy and will be recorded as unauthorised.  The Local Authority may issue a Fixed Penalty Notice for any unauthorised absences of 10 or more sessions (5 days) in a 10 week period.

If your child has a medical appointment during the day, please advise the school office, prior to the appointment, and bring in to school a copy of the appointment letter.  On the day of the appointment, please come to the school office to collect your child and to return them to school afterwards.

Absence from Learning

Having good attendance from an early age will help children throughout their school life.  Being on time is also vital.  Arriving late at school can be very disruptive for the late child, the teacher and other children in the class.

Governors and staff fully appreciate that some parents are unable to take leave during the school holidays and that trips abroad are sometimes cheaper during the term.  However, there is a link between children who miss school and the progress they make.

The school strongly advises parents and carers to encourage good attendance in order to minimise any disruption to their child's education.  The procedure for requesting absence from learning will be -

1. The parent/carer will obtain a "Request for Withdrawal from Learning" from the school office or website.

2. The parent/carer will complete and return the form to the school office.

3. The Headteacher will decide whether or not to authorise the absence, in line with school policy.

Please be aware that requests for term time holidays will NOT be authorised unless there are "exceptional circumstances", such as -

1. Children with a parent on leave from the armed forces.

2. Holiday for recently adopted children or children in care.

3. Holiday for parents who work in the emergency services and who have had their leave cancelled.