Absence and attendance
New attendance guidance
School attendance is a key indicator for pupil attainment, wellbeing and future life chances and an important protective measure for vulnerable children. At the end of February, the DfE announced a number of changes to the law relating to pupil registration and attendance. The changes to our school policy shall come into effect from the Monday 2nd September 2024, which will also have statutory force from that date.
New National Penalty Notice Framework
The following changes will come into force for Penalty Notice Fines from 19th August 2024 across the whole of England. Schools MUST consider a penalty notice for 10 unauthorised sessions (usually 5 school days) within a rolling 10 school week period of time (these sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of any unauthorised absences and can span different terms and school years). Penalty Notices are issued per parent, per child (For example, if there are 3 children in a family, each parent may receive 3 separate penalty notices).
National Penalty Notice Framework (offences in a three year rolling period)
Excellent attendance and punctuality are vital for success at school, and to the establishment of positive life habits that are necessary for future success. Through attending school regularly, students can:
- Build friendships and develop social groups.
- Develop life skills.
- Engage in essential learning and other school social events.
- Achieve to their full potential.
- Minimise the risk of engaging in anti-social behaviour.
Definitions of Attendance
Our attendance target for all students is 100% and our minimum expectation is 97%. When we speak with students about their attendance we always relate this to the number of lessons and days missed.
For example the impact of days missed and minutes late on a child’s learning:
Important Reminders
Parents should report any absence to the school via the absence line on 0113 2185314 before 8:30am. Parents should provide the child’s full name, year group and specific reason for absence. Parents should contact the school for each day a child will not be attending school. If the school are not notified of the absence, parents will be contacted by phone to request the reason for absence. Students must be onsite before 8.10am. Any student arriving after this will be marked as late.
Is my child too ill for school?
As a school we want to work with parents/carers to ensure that every child’s attendance is as high as possible as there is a clear link between attendance, progress and wellbeing. The NHS have produced clear guidelines to be used by schools and parents/carers which state when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn’t. As a school we will be referring to this guidance to determine if we are able to record absences as authorised or unauthorised.
Will my Child’s Absence Be Authorised? (Examples and not exhaustive)
