Absence and Holidays

ABSENCE (ILLNESS AND HOLIDAYS)

If your child is ill and has to stay away from school, please let us know by phoning the school on the morning of the first day of absence.  There is an answer machine that will record your message should the office be unattended.  If a child does not appear then we will attempt to contact parents.  Absence through illness, appointments with the medical profession and visits to hospitals will be recorded as authorised if you inform us.  By law we must record these as unauthorised if you do not inform us.

It is part of our statutory duty to encourage good attendance.  Although absence through illness is obviously unavoidable it does have a detrimental effect on a pupil's learning.  Government guidelines suggest we should show concern when attendance dips below 95%.  In instances when attendance becomes a concern we alert parents.

The Government wishes us to actively dissuade parents from taking pupils out of school for family holidays.  If you do wish to do this then you must make a request (forms available from reception).  Time taken for holidays without making a request will be recorded as unauthorised.  Up to ten days can be authorised but each case is determined on its merits and the attendance pattern of the pupil concerned.  Parents are encouraged to use the last week of each term for school-time holidays as this causes the least disruption to curriculum work.

The school will not authorise a holiday absence that falls during school test/Year 6 SATs week: 12 - 16 May 2008 (date to be confirmed), or for a Year 6 pupil for the period from the start of the Summer Term to the Year 6 SATs.  Year 6 parents who take pupils out of school during the Autumn Term (September - November) risk them missing tests for grammar school entry.

Requests for homework or special programmes of work for pupils taking holidays during term time cannot be granted.  Our curriculum is mainly a taught curriculum.  We do not use a great number of text books that are worked through linearly and would therefore be suitable for pupils to use for individual study.

ABSENCE RATE

The school had an authorised absence of 4.1% and an unauthorised absence of 0.1% from September 2006 to May 2007.