This information is contained within our school Attendance Policy, however, in line with updates from Derbyshire County Council, we would like to make you explicitly aware of the following statement:

In September 2013 the government introduced new regulations making it clear that Headteachers must not give approval for any leave of absence during term time, including holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Any requests for term time leave should be made on a Leave of Absence form available from the school office and handed in at least four school weeks before the first date of the requested absence whenever possible. You must have received written authorisation before your child can be absent from school.

Parent/carers may be issued with a penalty notice fine or prosecution should leave of 5 days or more be taken which is not authorised by the Headteacher, or where repeated incidents of leave in term time for less than 5 days occur or where the unauthorised absence contributes to wider poor attendance that meets the legal threshold. Absence deemed for the reason of unauthorised leave in term time will be marked in the register with the Attendance code G. 

You may be issued with a Penalty Notice should leave be taken which is not authorised. If unpaid this could lead to prosecution under section 444(1) of The Education Act 1996.

Requesting a ‘Leave of Absence’ in term time:
The Government issued new regulations in September 2013 regarding Leave of Absence; The Education
(Pupil Regulations) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended by Education (Pupil Regulations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. A leave of absence can be requested by completing a ‘Leave of Absence' form available from the school office. 

• Principals shall not grant any Leave of Absence during term time unless they consider there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.

Attendance Expectations: 
We believe that regular attendance at school is vital to help children achieve and get the best possible start in life.  Children who frequently miss school often fall behind and there is a strong link between good school attendance, happiness and school success.  We aim for our attendance target to be as follows: 
"We all strive for 100% unless we are genuinely unwell."

The School Day:

• Starts at 8.30am and finishes at 3.10pm.
• Any child arriving after 8.45am is classed as late.
• Registers formally close at 9.00am. 
• This equates to 33 hours and 20 minutes per week.

Parents are expected to:

• Ensure that their child attends daily, unless unwell, and on time.
• Contact the school office on 01623 742734 before 9.00am of the day of absence giving an explanation as to why your child will not be in school.  If your child continues to be absent then please contact the school daily until your child is fit to return to school. 

Arriving to school on time:

• Any child/young person arriving before the register closes at 9.00am will be given a ‘L’ mark in the register.
• Any child/young person arriving after the register closes at 9.00am will be given a ‘U’ mark. Please note that this is an unauthorised mark. The afternoon register closes at 1.15pm. 

Medical Appointments:
Routine medical appointments such as dentist, opticians, etc should be made outside of the school day and a copy of appointment letter is required if this has not been possible.  All specialist medical appointments such as consultants, paediatricians, orthodontist, etc. may be authorised, as long as school is in receipt of a copy of the appointment letter. This needs to be provided to the school’s office.

Unexplained Absence from School:
When no reason has been provided for a child/young person’s absence the school will initiate a First Day Contact’ response in line with ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024’ and ‘Children at Risk of Missing Education’. The following steps take place:

1. If no contact has been made with school and the reason for absence is still unknown, a phone call will be made by school to try and establish the reason for your child’s absence.
2. If no reason can be obtained for your child’s absence, then a home visit may be carried out.
3. Home visits are undertaken as a matter of course after three days of absence.

Please note, we may also contact your identified emergency contact numbers on our school management system to establish the reason for your child’s absence.

Persistent Absence from School
A ‘persistent absentee’ is any child/young person whose attendance falls below 90%.
Absences will be unauthorised if a parent fails to provide a reason for absence or the school does not accept the reason for absence provided
Our school monitors attendance very closely, looking at patterns and trends of absence - this information will form part of a support plan when we work with parents to improve their child’s attendance at school.

Supporting parents:
It is in the best interest of the child, the family and school if problems with attendance are identified early.  School staff will support wherever possible in encouraging your child/young person to attend school regularly.

Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act states that parents have a duty to ensure their child(ren)’s regular attendance.  The Local Authority now have powers under sections 444, 444A and 444ZA of the Education Act 1996 to bring legal action against parents in order to enforce attendance at school.