Attendance

Parents are responsible for making sure that their children of compulsory school age receive suitable full-time education

If a child of compulsory school age fails to attend regularly at a school at which they are registered, or at a place where alternative provision is provided for them, the parents may be guilty of an offence and can be prosecuted by the local authority.

Absences

If your child is absent, you must ring 0121-556-1383 or text the school through the School Gateway App before 9.30 am without fail.

You must state your child's name, class, illness, or reason why they cannot attend, and where possible the amount of time you think they will be absent.

This is your responsibility as a parent / legal guardian and if you do not report your child's absence the school can send out the Safeguarding and Welfare Practitioner to make a home visit to see why they are not attending school.

Penalty notices can be used where the pupil’s absence has not been authorised by the school. Penalty notices may also be issued where parents allow their child to be present in a public place during school hours without reasonable justification during the first five days of a fixed period or permanent exclusion. The parents must have been notified by the school at the time of the exclusion of this and the days to which it applies

Late for school

Why is PUNCTUALITY such a GOOD thing?

Being on time:

• Gets your child’s day off to a good start so he/she can settle straight into the school day

• Sets positive patterns for the future • Leads to good attendance • Leads to better achievement

• Leads to understanding that school is important and education is valuable

Why is LATENESS such a BAD thing? Being Late:

• Gets your child’s day off to a bad start

• Can be really embarrassing for your child to walk into class late

• Will be noticed by other children who might make negative comments

• May lead to your child feeling confused all day! He/She will have missed out on vital instructions, information, and bits of news at the start of the day

• Disrupts the lesson for everyone

• Creates a bad habit that is hard to break

• Can lead to poor attendance – If your child thinks that it is okay to be late for school they can soon think it’s okay not to go to school at all.

What should you do if you have a problem getting your child to school on time?

• Talk to your child

• Talk to the school

• Ask for help – remember it’s better to get help early on to stop little problems from becoming big ones!

Requesting a leave of absence.

Can a parent take their child on holiday during term time?

Headteachers should only authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. If a head teacher grants a leave request, it will be for the head teacher to determine the length of time that the child can be away from school. Leave is unlikely, however, to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday as a norm.

Definition of a parent

A parent means :

• All natural parents, whether they are married or not;

• Any person who has parental responsibility for a child or young person; and,

• Any person who has care of a child or young person i.e. lives with and looks after the child.

The local authority and school will need to decide who comes within the definition of parent in respect of a particular pupil when using the legal measures, but generally, parents include all those with day-to-day responsibility for a child.