At Southwick Community Primary School, we have a strong focus on attendance to ensure that all of our children can make the best progress possible. Every school day counts.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and carers about the importance of school attendance and the law around granting a child leave of absence:
What does the law say?
The government changed the rules on term-time absence in 2013.
Under the current rules, you can only allow your child to miss school if:
- He or she is too ill to attend school
- You have advance permission from the school
In line with the law relating to term time absence and in line with school policy, requests for holidays will only be granted in exceptional circumstances or for religious observance.
What if my child has an unauthorised absence?
If you take your child out of school without advance permission (except where he or she is ill), you can be fined or even prosecuted.
This could involve:
- A fixed penalty notice of £60 within 21 days, or £120 within 28 days
- A parenting order, education supervision order or school attendance order where your child repeatedly misses school without a good reason
Why is attendance so important?
Missing a few days or weeks of school might not seem like very much, but it can have a big effect on your child’s education.
For example, if your child misses two weeks of school every year, this adds up to more than two terms over the child’s whole time in school.
Making sure your child attends school as much as possible means:
- Your child will receive the same education and opportunities as everyone else in the class
- You won’t need to worry about your child catching up on work, or that your child might fall behind because of missing an important lesson
- Your child’s confidence won’t be affected by missing school
- Your child won’t miss out on activities which are often fun and a chance to develop friendships
You can find out more about the rules around term-time absence in the following sources:
School attendance and absence:
https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/overview
The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/756/regulation/2/made
Key things to remember:
- You can only allow your child to miss school if he or she is ill, or if you have advance permission from the school
- Term time leave of absence will only be granted in exceptional circumstances or for religious observance
- You can be fined for taking your child out of school without advance permission from the school
We would also like to take this opportunity to highlight that we have a number of children whose attendance is currently above the national average, and some who currently have 100% attendance, for which we are grateful.
We would like to thank you in supporting us to ensure your child is in school every day and receives the best possible opportunity to reach their full potential.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Punctuality
It is extremely important that children come to school on time each day. If your child is late, they must enter school via the main entrance. Lateness can affect your child’s attendance and the best possible start to a child’s school day is when they are on time and are beginning the day with their peers.
Thank you for your support in ensuring your child is on time for school every day.
