Attendance
We prioritise good attendance for all pupils in school. There is an abundance of research to demonstrate the importance of high school attendance in pupils making progress. Poor attendance not only impacts on learning, but also on children's social, emotional and mental wellbeing, as they can end up missing key events, or struggling to maintain strong relationships with peers etc.
We do understand that children fall ill (and sometimes need to be kept at home to prevent illnesses spreading to others - e.g. D&V, COVID, Chicken Pox etc.) and we follow NHS guidlines in these cases. We ask that, wherever possible, hospital and other medical appointments are kept out of the school day; where this is not feasible, please only withdraw your child for the shortest manageable time (i.e. just for the appointment, not for a whole morning).
Holidays in term time are not permitted by law.
There may be exceptional circumstances (especially linked to our service community) in which a pupil may be granted leave of absence. These include short absences linked to pre/post deployment leave when a military parent has been away for an extended period of time. We know that military life (or personal crises etc.) can create huge challenges for families and we want to be supportive around this. In such cases a form requesting exceptional leave of absence is available from the office - evidence will be required for this to be authorised.
Helpful Documents
Please see below for some key information regarding attendance.
Leave of Absence in Exceptional Circumstances
Attendance Policy (Full), to be read in conjunction with Government guidance 'Working together to improve attendance'.
