Attendance Expectations- Autumn 2024 UPDATE
This section of the website highlights the updated national expectations around attendance. It will come as no surprise that regular attendance is vital for your child's development- academically as well as in regards to their overall well-being. The national expectations/ guidance has now been further enhanced and key headlines are shared below:
Since August 2024, the new government legislation on school attendance reinforces that:
- Attendance is a legal requirement: All children are expected to attend school every day unless they are unwell or have a preapproved reason for absence.
- Punctuality is also very important and children should be in school on time to ensure they do not miss the beginning of lessons. Any child who arrives after 9.15am is marked as having an unauthorised absence.
- Where a child is not going to be in school, parents or carers must inform the school before the start of each day, stating the reason. This helps us to ensure that all of our children and families are safe and accounted for.
Recording of unauthorised absences
The new legislation is also much tighter in terms of what would be considered an authorised absence and what would not. For example, absences that are not fully explained or not fully justified would now be classed as unauthorised. Analysis of attendance data/ trends is also able to support the school with decision-making on whether absences will be authorised. If a child has 10 sessions (the equivalent of 5 full days) of unauthorised absence, the local authority may issue a fixed penalty notice. Do note that this number of unauthorised sessions has been reduced from the previous guidance of 15.
This is also the case for term-time holidays. Where a child misses 10 sessions due to a holiday during school time, a fixed penalty notice will be issued. We strongly encourage that all holidays are booked during the school holidays. (Dates for these up until July 2026 can be found here)
If you still believe that you have a significant and exceptional reason which would require a holiday to be taken during term time, complete a form from the school office prior to booking.
Fixed Penalty Notices
Another change within the new rules is the increase in the level of fine. For the first offence for each child, each parent would be fined £160, which would be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days. This means that a family of two parents and two children could now receive a fine of £640 for taking a weeks’ holiday during term time. If there is further absence, the local authority may then seek to prosecute parents.
Detailed guidance from Hertfordshire providing more information is available at the bottom of this page.
Ensuring Effective Attendance!
You MUST inform the school of any absence BEFORE the start of the school day on our school phone number 01442 256294 using option 1. This is so that we know that your child is safe and accounted for.
In order to support parents with making appropriate decisions about children’s attendance at school, we are sharing the additional information.
On occasions, some parents are unsure about whether to send their children to school when they are showing certain symptoms, often related to the common cold.
There is little doubt that children will be affected by such symptoms but this is all part of growing up/ school life. The recent enforced restrictions of the school closures has meant that children have not been enabled to build up their immunity to such issues but now that schools have fully reopened it will allow children to work alongside each other again.
Do recognise the guidance in regard to coughs/ colds:
As the NHS website/ guidance states:
‘It's fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold.’
Parents also can report feeling a little guilty when they send their children into school with such symptoms but we hope the NHS information shared above will clarify expectations. Headlice is also not a sufficient reason for keeping a child at home.
More information is available at:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Requesting additional medical documentation
The school may ask for families to provide additional medical documentation to ensure clear evidence for situations/ conditions. You are able to request any information in regard to your child's health records and this should be a simple process as the following screenshot from the NHS website highlights:
For more detailed information (and links) follow:
https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-access-your-health-records/
EVERY day truly matters in school and our aim for 97+% attendance is a fair expectation. This would mean that your children get the education they deserve as well as a number of days (in reserve) if they truly are not able to attend school.
We are required to keep a detailed record of this and if we do not receive a note then the absence may be recorded as unauthorised. Due to the 2013 amendment to the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006, headteachers are no longer allowed to authorise leave of absence for holidays during term time and may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Application forms, to request leave of absence for exceptional circumstances, are available from the school office.
Hertfordshire information regarding use of Fixed Penalty Notices
All at Tudor Primary remain delighted with the partnership that we hold with our parent community and we pledge to always work WITH families. Attendance has become a strength of Tudor’s school performance and we receive positive feedback about the range of supportive measures that we put in place to support children and families. We fully recognise that the vast majority of pupils are in school each day (and on time) and ready to learn each day. Let’s continue to work TOGETHER to ensure the children of Tudor Primary receive the best possible experience of school.