Attendance Policy:
Perranporth Community Primary School is committed to maximising the education of all our pupils and we aim to work with parents to ensure this can be achieved. If your child is late what does that actually mean?
Equals day’s worth of learning lost in a school year:
5 minutes = 3.4 Days
10 minutes = 6.9 Days
15 minutes = 10.3 Days
20 minutes = 13.8 Days
30 minutes = 20.7 Days
When your child is absent the time lost adds up!
Days absent from school: Lessons/hours of learning lost
1 Day’s Absence = 5 Lessons missed (5 Hours)
3 Day’s Absence = 15 Lessons missed (15 Hours)
1 Week’s Absence = 25 Lessons missed (25 Hours)
2 Week’s Absence = 50 Lessons missed (50 Hours)
| Attendance during one school year | Equals days absent | Which is approximately week absent | Which means this number of lessons missed |
| 95% | 9 days | 2 weeks | 50 lessons |
| 90% | 19 days | 4 weeks | 100 lessons |
| 85% | 29 days | 6 weeks | 150 lessons |
| 80% | 38 days | 8 weeks | 200 lessons |
In order to keep you all fully informed, the Governors would like to issue the current regulations regarding the authorisation of leave of absence during term time.
Explaining Leave of Absence.
The directive of the government is very clear that schools are no longer allowed to grant leave for absence for holidays in term time. Whilst we understand that it is often more convenient or cheaper for families to take holiday in term time, schools are no longer able to authorise this. Parents have a duty to ensure that their child attends school every day, and schools have a duty to enforce this. Attendance is closely monitored through OFSTED for the government and this is one of the criteria by which schools are judged.
Regulations that came into force in 2013 make it clear that head teachers must not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Headteachers should determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted. Parents who take their children on holiday without the authorisation of the school can be referred to the Educational Welfare Service and fined. This is in line with policy in all schools.
What is an Exceptional Circumstance?
It is up to the Headteacher to make a decision on each individual application, and it is difficult to define exceptional circumstances. However, examples of exceptional circumstances might be:
We are not able to grant leave of absence simply because a holiday is cheaper in term-time, or more convenient work-wise.
To ensure that we comply with these regulations, parents requesting leave of absence will need to detail the exceptional circumstances on our leave of absence request form in order that these can be assessed. You will find a copy of our request form below or you can obtain a hard copy from the school office.
Fixed Penalty Notice information:
If your child is absent from school without authorisation, you will be committing an offence under the Education Act 1996. We may submit a request to Cornwall Council for a Penalty Notice to be issued, in accordance with Sections 444A and 444B of the said Act.
Penalty Notices are issued per liable parent, per child and each carry a fine of £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid after this but within 28 days.
If your child is further absent from school without authorisation within any 3-year period, you will be committing a further offence under the Education Act 1996. We may submit a request to Cornwall Council for a Penalty Notice to be issued, in accordance with Sections 444A and 444B of the said Act. Penalty Notices for a second offence are issued per liable parent, per child and each carry a fine of £160, payable within 28 days. Importantly, fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice may also result in legal action. If you are prosecuted and attend court because your child has not been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500. Cornwall Council may also apply for the costs incurred in taking the matter to Court, including legal costs.
Absence not authorised by the school may also result in a prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court under Section 444(1) or Section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996, leading to a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a custodial sentence. Again, Cornwall Council may also apply for the costs incurred in taking the matter to Court, including legal costs. Money raised from fines is only used by the local authority to cover the costs of administering the system, and to fund attendance support. Any extra money is returned to the government. ‘Parent’ as set out in Section 576 of the Education Act 1996, defines parent to include: natural parents, whether they are married or not; any person or body who has parental responsibility for a child (as defined by the Children Act 1989) and; any person who, although not a natural parent, has care of a child. Having care of a child means a person with whom a child lives and who looks after a child, irrespective of what their relationship is with said child. Please ensure the School Office are notified of all planned absences by completing the appropriate Absence Re quest Form from our the School Office or website: Pupil-Leave-of-Absence-Request-Form.pdf
Lateness
We would also like to request that parents and families make every effort to arrive at school on time, between 8:30am and 8:45am. It’s always best for children to have a calm and settled start to their day and this really helps set their learning day up properly too. Lateness causes lots of disruptions in classrooms, to the School Office staff and is also lost learning time too.
Parents should also note that arrivals after 9.15am have to be marked in registers as ‘unauthorised absence’ for the morning session.
If you have any queries or questions please do make an appointment to come and discuss your particular request with Mr Johnson. As always, as a school we are committed to working with you to ensure the best for our children and in keeping you fully informed. You can contact Mr Johnson via the School Office on 01872 572021 or email perranporth@tpacademytrust.org
To see our Attendance Policy and Strategy, please go to our Policies page.
