ATTENDANCE LINE: 020 8487 1932
PLEASE CALL THE ATTENDANCE LINE IF YOUR CHILD SHOULD BE ABSENT FOR ANY REASON BEFORE 8:30AM
All pupils are expected to attend school every day unless there is a genuine medical or other reason for absence. Parents will receive attendance printouts regularly.
Attendance certificates are awarded for 100% attendance. All pupils have a target of at least 96% attendance. Notes explaining the reason for absence are required for every absence. We also request that parents telephone the school on the first day of absence.
Persistent absence will result in referral to the Educational Welfare Officer who may decide to issue Fast Track Prosecution Notices, which could result in a fine.
Holidays must not to be taken during term time. Where this does occur then all such absences require written permission from the Head Teacher and will in most circumstances be recorded as unauthorised absence.
Richmond Upon Thames Education Welfare Service
The Education Welfare Service has the statutory responsibility for monitoring the attendance of all pupils who attend schools within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
All schools receive the support of an allocated officer. The aim of the service is to identify personal and/or social issues that may affect the attendance, progress, and well being of children and young people.
The service works alongside schools and a variety of agencies to support families to overcome such difficulties to ensure children and young people are able to access their education provision.
Our Services
- Regular meetings with key school staff to agree referrals and intervention for pupils causing concern.
- Advice, contact and support to parents and pupils regarding education matters.
- Regular register checks.
- Provide in-service training, advice and guidance to school staff on issues impacting on individual pupil’s attendance and behaviour, including school policies.
- Liaison with neighbouring authorities in order to secure appropriate support services for improving pupil’s attendance and personal welfare.
- Contribute to the multi-agency forums in supporting children and families.
- Provide in-service training, advice and guidance for school staff on child protection and child safeguarding matters.
- Undertake appropriate prosecutions and implement new legislative measures under the advice of the legal services.
- Monitoring and evaluating of education otherwise than at school.
- Monitoring of children who are looked after by the Local Authority.
- Licensing related to child employment and children in entertainment.
- Issuing Chaperone Licenses.
FAMILY HOLIDAYS / LEAVE IN TERM TIME
This is to inform you of some changes to the school’s Attendance Policy as agreed by the Governors at their recent meeting. It relates specifically to requests for taking children out of school during term time for a family holiday or leave.
Monitoring has confirmed that there has been no reduction in the number of children being taken out of school for family holidays and this is now becoming an issue in terms of the school’s overall performance. Governors are reluctant to automatically refuse all requests for term-time holidays, but do feel that parents should be aware of the implications of taking children out of lessons and the increased powers available to the school through the LEA’s Education Welfare Service.
Parents are therefore asked to note the following:
There is no entitlement for parents to remove their child from school for the purposes of a holiday in term time.
In exceptional circumstances (please see bullet below for the definition of “exceptional circumstances” )
Parents can request to remove their child for a family holiday.
All such requests must be made on the school’s official “Holiday Form” - letters will not be accepted (form available from school website or school main office).
The “exceptional circumstances” must be clearly stated on the form. Governors have agreed that lower costs/cheaper fares etc. will no longer be accepted as an “exceptional” circumstance.
The form must be returned to the school office at least fourteen days before the start date of the holiday.
Parents should not assume that returning the form guarantees that the holiday request will be approved.
The Headteacher has the authority (though current legislation) to decide whether or not to authorise the absence. In making a decision she will take the following into account.
- The reasons given for the holiday (e.g. the “exceptional” circumstances)
- The time of the year and/or term
- Whether the child will miss any preparations for tests/exams
- Whether the child will miss tests or exams
- The child’s previous attendance record - including any patterns of absence
- The Headteacher will inform parents of the reason/s for a request being refused.
- In signing the form, parents are confirming that they understand the following:
- If a child is removed for a family holiday without approval, the absence will be marked as “unauthorized” in the class register. In addition, the Headteacher will report the absence to the Education Welfare Service who will issue a Fixed Penalty Notice.
- A child who is removed for a prolonged period in term time (that is - longer than a normal absence for sickness) will miss a large amount of school work while he or she is away and will be unprepared for the work on returning to school.
- The school cannot guarantee that the teacher will be able to spend time helping a child to catch up with the work missed during the holiday.
- Asking for extra work to do at home may not be appropriate as the child may have missed the initial teaching.
This policy will be monitored during the remainder of the school year and will be revised as appropriate in the autumn of 2009. If you would like to discuss it further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Holiday Application Form:
Click here: holiday_application-form-03
Attendance Diamond:
Click here: attendance_diamond_03
Attendance PowerPoint Presentations to help Parents/Carers with Attendance:
Attendance, Achievement and Support for Parents Presentation CLICK HERE
Raise your childs attendance Presentation CLICK HERE
Attendance Publications from the Department for Education and Skills:
1) Is your Child missing out? CLICK HERE
2) Truancy Comic for Students CLICK HERE
