Attendance and Expectations

LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING TERM TIME

UPDATED INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

The Supreme Court has clarified the law on unauthorised leave, including holidays, during term time (Platt v Isle of Wright 2017). The Supreme Court has made clear that attending school ‘regularly’ means that the children must attend school on every day that they are required to do so. As such, the parents of any child who is absent from school without authorisation for any length of time are likely to be considered as committing an offence under s444 of the Education Act 1996.

The law states a leave of absence may only be granted by a school if an application is made in advance and if it considers there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.

Schools must judge each application individually considering the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind each request.

A leave of absence is granted entirely at the school’s discretion. Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation would not constitute an exceptional circumstance.

Where a leave of absence is granted, the school will determine the number of days a pupil can be absent from school.

When making an application for Leave of Absence parents are advised to give sufficient information and time to allow the Head teacher the opportunity to consider all the exceptional circumstances and to notify parents of their decision.  The school may also request further information on the application and supporting documentation where appropriate.

It is advised that if the resident parent has not received notification or a response regarding the leave of absence application, it is the parents’ responsibility to ascertain if the leave is authorised prior to the start of the leave.

The school can only consider Leave of Absence requests which are made by the ‘resident’ parent ie the parent with whom the child normally resides.

Where applications for leave of absence are made in advance and refused, the child is expected to be in school on the dates set out in the application. If the child is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.  Where a leave of absence is requested, but additional days taken either prior to or after the request may be considered as part of the leave of absence.

Leave of Absences which are not made in advance cannot be authorised in line with legislation.  This will result in the absence being recorded as ‘unauthorised’. 

All matters of unauthorised absence relating to a Leave of Absence will be referred to the Warwickshire Attendance Service, part of Warwickshire County Council.  Penalty Notices are issued in accordance with Warwickshire County Council’s Code of Conduct for Penalty Notices and in the first instance, as an alternative to prosecution proceedings. 

Leave of Absence taken in the academic year 2024-25

The law relating to Penalty Notices changed with effect from 19 August 2024. Therefore, Penalty Notices issued for Leave of Absence taken from September 2024 will be issued in accordance with the updated legislation.

·       Penalty Notices are issued to each parent of each absent child, (for example 2 children and 2 parents, means each parent will receive 2 invoices – 4 in total). 

o   First Leave of Absence offence:  The Penalty Notice amount of £160 to be paid within 28 days, this is reduced to £80 each child if paid within 21 days.

o   Second Leave of Absence offence within a 3 year period (from the date of issue of the first penalty notice): The amount of £160 paid within 28 days.  No reduced amount.

·       Payment plans will not be offered and/or payments received outside of the 28 day period will not be accepted. Where a penalty notice expires unpaid the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider criminal prosecution.  

·       Third Leave of Absence offence within a 3 year period (from the date of issue of the first penalty notice):  A penalty notices will be not be issued and the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal prosecution proceedings under S444 of Education Act 1996.

Your child’s progress academically as well as socially is our shared priority.

If your child is aged between 5 and 16, you must make sure he/she attends school regularly and stays in school. This is law. You can be taken to court for breaking this law (Section 444 of the Education Act 1996). 

Parents should ensure their children arrive at school on time, properly dressed and in a condition to learn. 

This means pupils should wear school uniform. They must have their books, pens, pencils, PE kit etc, and not be too tired, worried or hungry. Parents must also make sure that pupils complete homework on time and keep to school rules about behaviour. 

• Have a regular bedtime
• Limit digital technology use – e.g. gaming, social media etc and finish at least one hour before bed
• Ensure your child has their own alarm clock
• Get their bag and all of their equipment and kit ready the night before
• Establish routes to school in advance 

• The Academy day starts at 8:25am. 
• Pupils are expected to arrive on time for each period of the day (including registration)
• Pupils arriving late will be marked as late in the register and a 30 minutes, same day detention will be issued.
• Late to school is defined as any pupil arriving to school after the gates have closed at 8.25am.
• Late to lesson is defined as arriving to the classroom after the door has been closed by the class teacher

• To avoid gaps in learning
• To help achieve good exam results
• To help with applications to sixth form, college or an apprenticeship 
• To prevent further action from the school and/or the local authority 
• To show a good attitude to learning

• To look after the house or other members of the family
• To go shopping or visit relatives
• For girls: because they are menstruating 
• Because of waking up late
• For family birthdays or outings 

A pupil is defined as ‘persistently absent’ when their attendance falls below 90%

• Attendance golden token every week to be entered into a termly prize draw.
• Weekly merits which can be exchanged at the Reward Shop.
• Entry into attendance Bonus Week prize draws.
• Postcards home.
• Praise phone calls / emails.
• Recognition in the end-of-term celebration assemblies.
• A letter of congratulations from the Principal for 100% attendance for the Academic Year.

As you will all be aware, current attendance regulations stipulate a Principal may not grant a leave of absence during term - time unless there are exceptional circumstances. We are unable to grant any requests for leave of absence due to holiday. Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case - by - case basis and on its own merits. It is for the Principal to decide what she views as ‘exceptional’ and it is at their discretion if the circumstances warrant the leave to be granted.

If the leave is granted, the Principal is able to determine the number of school days a child can be absent for. 

The school can only consider leave of absence requests which are made by the ‘resident’ parent. Where applications for leave of absence are made in advance and refused, the child will be required to be in school on the dates set out in the application. 

If the child is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence, which may result in legal action being taken against the parent(s), by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice. Failure to make an application for leave in advance can also result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued to the parent(s). Where a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued and not paid within the required timeframe as set out on the notice, the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal proceedings under S444 Education Act 1996. 

Parents are asked to respect the new regulations under which the School must work and if there is a need to take a child out of school during term - time, an application or request must be made in advance and make clear how the circumstances are exceptional. 

If your child is unable to attend school, the parent/carer must inform the school Attendance Officer before 9am that day.  

If you are leaving a message to report a student absence, please include their name, year or form group, reason for absence and expected length of absence. 

If you are unsure of the length of absence please inform the Attendance Office before 8:30am on each day of absence.  

To contact the Attendance Officer please use the details below: 

Attendance Officer: Nicola Paton

Email Address: Nicola.Paton@GeorgeEliotAcademy.org.uk

Telephone Number: 02476 744 000 Ext: 224

Parents and carers can explain absences but they cannot authorise them. Only the school can decide whether explanations about absences are acceptable and can be authorised.  

If a pupil's attendance drops below 95%, it may trigger the formal attendance support process.

A pupil may have to be absent from school for medical or dental treatment. The school must be informed if during school time, but where possible appointments should be arranged after school.  

Please ensure that evidence is provided for appointments within school hours, staff will check this before allowing students to leave lessons. Alternatively, please inform the Attendance Officer and they will mark this accordingly on the register. 

If students are leaving school site for any reason they must sign out at reception. Reception staff will ensure that students have permission to be leaving school site before allowing them to sign out.

If a pupil feels unwell during the school day they should inform their class teacher, the class teacher will then make an assessment of the child’s ability to stay in school.

If there is a medical emergency, a pastoral manager will be called for immediately.

If a child is deemed too ill to stay in school, a decision will be made by a member of the Senior Leadership Team, and parents will be informed. For safeguarding reasons, if your child makes contact with you themselves, please do not make arrangements with them to come and collect them. Instead, please contact the school, and a member of the pastoral team will get in touch with you and make arrangements for them to be collected.

If a pupil needs to take medication in school, we advise that parents/carers inform the school via a telephone call or a letter and the school will make arrangements to safely store the medicine in school. 

• We take a supportive approach to removing barriers to attendance while following a formal staged process in line with DfE guidance. The steps include:
• Identifying and addressing any underlying concerns or challenges preventing attendance.
• Offering early intervention and support to pupils and families.
• Regular communication with parents/carers to work collaboratively on improving attendance.
• Implementing an attendance action plan if concerns persist.
• If necessary, escalating the matter through the formal staged attendance process in accordance with DfE guidance.
• In cases of continued absence, involving external agencies as appropriate to support the pupil and family.

• They will be at a disadvantage
• They may miss important knowledge/content at the start of the lesson and interrupt learning.
• The school day starts at 8.25am when all pupils are expected to be on time to their form room.
• Pupils are expected to arrive on time for each period of the day including registration and assemblies.
• Pupils arriving late with be marked late in the register and a consequence will be applied.
• Late to school is defined as any pupil arriving after 8.25am.
• Late to lesson is defined as arriving to the classroom after the classroom door has been closed by the class teacher.
• Pupils who arrive at school after 8.25am will receive a 30 minute detention on the same day.
• Any pupil arriving after 9am will be marked as an unauthorised absence, which will impact their attendance and could therefore trigger the formal attendance support process.