Attendance

Notification of Absence

Attendance Matters

It can be tricky to decide whether to keep your child absent from school when they are unwell. As a parent, when thinking should I keep my child off school due to mild illness? please use the NHS link below to support with making the right decision.

Sickness

We know that illness is unavoidable and to be expected. However, it is very important to inform the school on the first day of absence with the reason either by telephone (023 8077 6397) by 9:30am or in person at the school office. Medicine can be given to children at school as long as a medicine form is completed and all medicines must be in their original boxes.

We expect ALL appointments, with the exception of hospital appointments, to be made outside of normal school hours.

What if my child is too anxious to go to school?  

Children can sometimes feel a little bit worried about going to school. Mostly, this is a very normal emotion.

It’s important to recognise that going into school can help children to feel less worried than letting them stay at home.

If your child is anxious over several weeks, talk to us about how we can support you.

We have put together some useful links on the Education Hub on mental health support which you may find helpful.

Absence

If you wish to take your child out of school for any period of time, a leave of absence form (available from the office only) should be completed and returned to Mr Abbott or Miss Lebbern.

Please be aware that holiday requests can no longer be authorised. We will only be able to authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.

There may be occasions when a child needs to leave the premises in school time for appointments. It is helpful if the school can be advised in advance and parents are asked to come to the main office to sign their child out. Children are never released from school unaccompanied.

By law, the Governors are required to report on the number of unauthorised absences each year. It is therefore very important to keep the school informed of the reasons for all absences. Attendance is monitored by the Headteacher and the Educational Welfare Service within Southampton, which includes regular visits from the Educational Welfare Support Officer who monitors attendance and punctuality. Very low attendance can lead to fixed penalty notices.

Fixed Penalty Notices

Fixed Penalty notices were introduced by Southampton Local Authority in September 2005 as an alternative prosecution.

All students who have 10 sessions (i.e 5 days) of unauthorised absence may be liable to receive a fixed penalty notice which incurs a monetary penalty per parent, per child.

For further support and guidance regarding your child's attendance please see the links below.