Attendance and leave of absence forms

Good attendance and punctuality are vital for success at the school, and to establish positive life habits that are necessary for future success.

Attendance and leave of absence forms

Good attendance and punctuality are vital for success at the school, and to establish positive life habits that are necessary for future success. For those times when attendance is not possible due to illness, we ask parents to follow the process below.

Reporting an absence

If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, please either visit or phone the school office rather than leaving a message with the class teacher, who may have lots of messages to remember. In this way, we can ensure that all absences are recorded correctly.

Please note that if your child is absent from school and we do not receive a message or are unable to reach you on the phone, we are obliged to follow up with a home visit to check on your child’s safety.

Please ring us on each day of absence, unless by prior arrangement with the office, eg in the case of chickenpox or sickness, where a set number of days at home may be required.

Please note that children must be 48 hours clear of sickness or diarrhoea before returning to school.

Leave of absence form:

Planned absence

If you are planing to take your child/ren out of school during term time please complete the term time absence request form.

Persistent absenteeism:

The government definition of persistent absenteeism is any pupil whose attendance falls below 90%. The school has a duty of care to take appropriate action when a child’s attendance falls below 95% in order to work with the parents and help to improve attendance.

Although we acknowledge there are times when pupils are generally ill, there are a rising number of cases where pupil absence is unauthorised and a subsequent rise in the number of cases of pupil attendance falling below 95%.

The school monitors attendance regularly and parents are contacted when their child’s attendance drops below 95% so that they are made aware and that we can find ways to offer support where necessary. The school works closely with B&NES attendance and welfare officers also.

You can find more information about absence on our policy page and in the B&NES’ guidance.