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 

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.

As of September 2013, an amendment to the Education (Pupil Registration)(England) Regulations 2006 came in to force and greater clarity was introduced to the issue of schools authorising absence requests. In addition on 19 August 2024, an amendment to the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into force and set out a new National Framework for issuing penalty notices. These changes reinforced the Government’s view that every minute of every school day is vital and that pupils should only be granted authorised absences by the school in ‘exceptional circumstances’.

A family holiday is not normally considered by the Government to be an ‘exceptional circumstance’ and therefore will not be authorised by this school. 

I must take this opportunity to remind you, that should you choose to take your child out of school without the authorisation of the school, then Parental Responsibility Measures could be instigated. This could mean receiving any of the following;

• A Penalty Notice
• A summons to the Magistrate Court which could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment for up to 3 months. 

Schools are required to notify the Local Authority if a pupil has a number of unauthorised absences.  Unauthorised absences can be acquired when;

1. Leave has been requested, but the circumstances are such that the school is unable to authorise the leave   and it is taken anyway.
2. Leave is not requested and/or the school has grounds to believe that the child has been taken out of school for an avoidable reason (example – a family holiday). Only the Head teacher can authorise an absence. This year there have been occasions when schools have been notified that the pupil is sick, but the school later discovers and reasonably believes that the reason given for the absence is not genuine.
3. A child continually arrives late after the registration period has closed. 

This school will be notifying the Local Authority in all of the circumstances listed above.

Should a Penalty Notice be issued as a result of unauthorised absence then one notice will be issued to each parent/carer for each child involved.  In addition to natural parents and any person with parental responsibility, any person considered to have day to day care and control of a young person is deemed to be a parent in matters relating to education and school nonattendance (s576 Education Act 1996).

From 19^th August 2024, following changes to secondary legislation, the amount charged in a penalty notice was increased .

The first penalty notice issued will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days. This is reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.

The second penalty notice will be charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days, with no opportunity to pay at a reduced rate. If a Penalty notice goes unpaid after 28 days, then court proceedings will be initiated.

We understand the disappointment that the refusal of a leave request may cause and we apologise, but as you can appreciate this policy represents the schools responsibility and commitment towards providing your child’s education and supporting their future life opportunities. We hope you will support us by ensuring that your son/daughter obtains the maximum benefit from their time at school by attending punctually for the 190 days each year that the law requires (unless prevented from doing so by an unavoidable circumstances). 

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