SEND, Inclusion & Support
Our school Attendance Officer Miss Harper, has regular contact with parents and carers regarding the attendance of our pupils. Miss Harper works hard to ensure all pupils are in school on a daily basis.
Teachers monitor the attendance in their class carefully and any concerns are referred directly to our Attendance Team. If your child cannot attend school for any reason, you must contact the school every day to inform us of the reason your child is absent. You can report an absence using our Absence form.
Parents are legally responsible for ensuring their children receive education under section 7 of the Education Act 1996 and that they regularly attend school.
The government has set the persistent absence percentage at 90% and all schools have to show that they have a robust system in place to track and support any attendance below this level.
This means that children must:
- Arrive at school on time
- Attend regularly
- Be suitably clothed
- Be in a condition to learn
All children between the ages of 5 and 16 (compulsory school age) are required, by law, to attend the school at which they are registered. Legal action can be taken if it is considered that a parent or carer is not fulfilling their parental responsibility to ensure their child receives a full-time education.
Failure to ensure regular attendance may result in the matter being placed before the Magistrates’ Court under Section 444(1a) of the Education Act 1996. Penalties can include fines up to £2,500 for each parent, consideration of a parenting order, or a period of imprisonment.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced penalty notices as an additional sanction to address poor school attendance. This means that for pupils with unauthorised absence from school (i.e., any absence that the school has not permitted for), their parents or carers may be subject to a fine of up to £80 per parent for each child (increases to £160 if not paid within 21 days).
For more information regarding school attendance please visit the following website:
Department of Education (DfE) Behaviour and attendance
You must speak with the school at the earliest opportunity if you have any problems securing your child's attendance. The school and the Local Authority are able to give you advice and support to help you fulfil your responsibility to secure improvement in your child's attendance.
Please be advised that in line with the government’s plea to parents and carers not to take children out of school during term time, we encourage parents and carers to book family holidays during the 13 weeks of school holidays. The Headteacher may not grant leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. This means that, unless such exceptional circumstances exist, all absence for a holiday or similar reasons will be unauthorised.
Schools are no longer able to authorise any leave of absence during term time for holidays unless there are exceptional circumstances. This could result in a Fixed Penalty fine of £80 per parent, per child. If this is not paid in 21 days this will rise to £160.
Additional Information:
Please find below a link to the Worcestershire Children First website, where you will find further information regarding school attendance. Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Worcestershire Children First - Information for Parents and Carers
