Attendance

St Leonard's Primary school is committed to providing a full and efficient educational experience for all pupils.

We are also committed to meeting the DfE (Department for Education) and Devon targets for raising levels of school attendance as set out in the Devon Local Authority Attendance Strategy. We believe that if pupils are to benefit from education, excellent attendance is crucial. We do all that we can to ensure maximum attendance for all pupils.

Our School Attendance Information / Absence / Term-Time Holidays 

For the information of all parents/carers, we would like to share our annual information about our approach and responsibilities to school attendance. Punctual daily attendance at school is essential to enable pupils to benefit from their education. It is our duty to monitor your child’s attendance and keep you informed when it falls below the expected levels.

The Department for Education state that Headteachers may NOT grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please note that this does not apply to children who are under 5 and therefore not yet in statutory education.

Should a Penalty Notice be issued as a result of unauthorised absence then one notice will be issued to each parent/guardian for each child involved. Currently, each Penalty Notice is £80, if paid within the first 21 days of issue, increasing to £160 if paid after 21 days and before 28 days. If a Penalty Notice goes unpaid after 28 days, then court proceedings will be initiated. In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.

We understand the disappointment that the refusal of any leave request may cause, but as I’m sure you can appreciate, this policy represents the school’s responsibility and commitment to maximising your child's opportunities to succeed in their education. We hope you will continue to support your child’s education by ensuring that your son/daughter obtains the maximum benefit from their time at school by attending punctually and for the required number of school days each year that the law requires (unless of course your child is prevented from doing so by an unavoidable circumstance or illness). Please take the time to review the Attendance Policy and if you should have any questions, please contact us.

Attendance

It is the policy of our school to celebrate achievement and full attendance is a critical factor to a productive and successful school career. If there are problems which affect a pupil’s attendance, we will investigate, identify and strive in partnership with parents and pupils to resolve those problems as quickly and efficiently as possible. The school works closely with the Attendance Improvement Officer (AIO) who visits the school regularly to monitor attendance.

Any pupil of statutory school age with attendance below 90%, which equates to a missed session every week, is considered to be ‘persistently absent’ and will automatically be monitored by the school and the AIO. If an improvement is not evident, a formal meeting will be held with the AIO to discuss the issues.

Absence

No absences will be authorised unless they are for exceptional circumstances; a family holiday during term-time is not normally considered by the Government to be an ‘exceptional circumstance’ and therefore will not be authorised by this school.

Schools are required to notify the Local Authority if a pupil has a number of unauthorised absences.

These can be acquired when:

• an absence has been requested, but the circumstances are such that the school is unable to authorise the absence.
• we have reason to believe that the child has been on holiday or the absence was not for genuine illness. The absence will remain unauthorised until the school is satisfied with the reasons given.
• a child continually arrives late after the registration period has closed, which is currently 9am.

The school will refer to the Local Authority in all of the above circumstances and at their discretion, this may result in either a Penalty Notice or a summons to the Magistrates Court which could result in a substantial fine per child to each parent/carer.

Illness

In the case of illness, please contact the school by 9am daily. If a child has a sustained illness (i.e. absent for more than 4 days) we request confirmation, if at all possible, that they have been seen by a medical professional i.e. an appointment card/prescription information from a GP surgery or walk-in centre. We do not require a letter from the Doctor.

If a child is absent and the parent does not contact the school (and we are unable to make contact with the parent) the absence is automatically unauthorised. We then follow our safeguarding procedures, which entails reaching out to other contacts on the child’s list and consideration of a visit to the family home to ensure that your child is safe.  

Routine Appointments

It is expected that non-urgent, routine medical appointments including dental check-ups and eye tests should be taken after school or during the school holidays.

For emergency medical appointments and all other medical appointments (hospital, speech therapy etc) please bring in a copy of the appointment letter which will be noted on the attendance register. It is expected that pupils’ attend school before and after an appointment.

Attendance Policy

Policy 

Absence Request Form

Please complete and return this form to the school office.

Absence Request Form