Attendance

It is vital that all pupils attend school and on time every day unless there is an unavoidable reason for absence.

Good attendance at school is crucial because it helps pupils to achieve - pupils who are not attending are not learning and will therefore not achieve as much as they are capable of. 

Some Reminders About School Attendance

Parents / carers are reminded that holidays must not be taken in term time. Parents are reminded that due to government legislation head teachers cannot grant leave of absence for family holidays during term time.

Taking holidays during the school term will be recorded as unauthorised absence and the school will refer such cases onto the local authority (Staffordshire County Council) who may administer a penalty fine.

Please also note that non urgent medical appointments such as dental checks or opticians appointments must be arranged outside the hours of the school day or in school holidays.

The school will take robust action to address issues of persistent lateness and attendance with the support of outside agencies.

Where there may be specific issues affecting attendance /punctuality parents are encouraged to contact the school so that we can offer support and ways forward to help children attend school more regularly and therefore improve their learning opportunities.

Any planned absence from school can only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

The following are examples of exceptional circumstance:

To allow a pupil to return to their country of origin for family, religious or cultural reasons.

Unavoidable circumstances - for example the parent / carer has inflexible leave allocation and evidence of this is provided by the employer.

There has been bereavement or serious illness in the family and a leave of absence is deemed appropriate.

Leave of absence connected to children of service personnel.

Absence from school can be requested through completion of a Leave of Absence form which is available in the school office or by clicking here.

A copy of our attendance policy can be found by clicking here.

Staffordshire County Council - Changes to Penalty Notices for Absence from School

Please click here to read full details regarding the Changes to Penalty Notices for Absence from School that came into affect from 1st January 2018