Attendance
Going to school regularly is important. Children who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and develop gaps in their learning. Once a child is of compulsory school age children must receive a suitable full-time education. When your child is registered at a school, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend regularly. If your child fails to do so, you risk getting a penalty notice or being prosecuted in court.
Reporting an absence
If a child is going to be absent from school, parents should report the absence to the school stating the reason for the absence. They should continue to call in on each subsequent day of absence. If a parent fails to report the absence to the school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. Illnesses defined by the NHS as common or minor do not necessitate absence from school; children can attend school with colds, sore throats and headaches. Depending on the reasons for absence, the Head Teacher will decide whether the absence can be authorised or not. Where absence is sickness related we may require medical certification, particularly where the absence lasts a few days.
To report an absence, parents can call the school and leave a message - option 1 or email admin@tiptreeheath.essex.sch.uk with the child’s name, class and the reason for absence.
Children should be kept off from school when they are vomiting or have diarrhoea. Parents should keep the child off for a period of 48 hours after the last episode of sickness/diarrhoea.
Registers and Lateness
Our school day begins at 8:45am and children should be lined up in the playground before this time ready to go in as soon as the bell rings. Any child arriving after the register is taken will receive a late mark. Office staff will call to find out the whereabouts of absent children. If a child arrives after registers formally close at 9.20, they will be marked with as an unauthorised absence for the morning session and this will impact on the child’s attendance percentage. This also impacts the children’s education because learning has been missed.
Parents should not take their child out of school during part of the school day to attend appointments, unless they are for the child and could not be otherwise scheduled, in which case we require proof of the appointment.
Holidays in Term Time
Head Teachers are no longer permitted to agree a Leave of Absence during term time unless in exceptional circumstances. This includes where parents decide to take their children out of school for a family holiday during term time. If you intend to take your child out of school for a leave of absence during term time, you must have requested this in advance (using our leave of absence request form) and had your request agreed by the Head Teacher. Failure to do this could result in a fine or prosecution. The impact of extended leave upon a child’s education is detrimental and one week off school equates to 25 hours of lessons missed. Leave of absence for a child due to ‘exceptional circumstances’ is rarely granted. When parents take children out of school for a holiday or other unauthorised absence totalling 10 sessions (5 days), this is referred to the Local Authority for a Penalty Notice Fine.
Persistent Absence
We monitor attendance regularly. Once a child’s absence rate falls below 90%, the child is classed as a persistent absentee and we will monitor attendance closely. If your child's attendance is low or irregular, we will write to you. We may also want to meet with you to agree a plan with you to improve your child’s attendance. If a child’s absence falls below 50%, the child is classed as a severe absentee and we will begin to involve other professionals.
Missing in Education
If a child is absent from school and the parent/carer has not reported the absence in line with school policy and we have concerns about the safety of the child or the absence has continued for several days, it is our policy to follow this up with a visit to your home address. We have a duty to make a referral to the Local Authority and begin the process of a joint investigation. As with all concerns regarding children, we follow our safeguarding procedures.
Support from school
Please do let us know if there is a difficulty with your child's attendance and you need our support. If your child starts missing school, there may a problem we are not aware of. We want every child to have great attendance so that they have every opportunity to meet their potential.