If a child is going to be absent from school, you, the parent/carer, must:

1. Call the school office on 01245 256074 and select option 1 or e-mail the school on admin@kingsroad-pri.essex.sch.uk to report their absence. Please do so before 9:15am on the first day of absence.
2. Provide a reason for the absence.

What to do if you're late (before 9:15am)

1. If the gates are closed, make your way to the school office with your child/ren.
2. Press the buzzer outside the front door to be given access and the office will sign your child in using the Inventry touchscreen system.

Speak to any member of staff at the school gates if you have trouble arriving to school on time.

Remember:

• School gates open at 8:35am
• School gates close at 8:45am

If your child is absent and we haven't heard from you by 9:20am, we will:

If you have not contacted the school by 9.20am your child’s absence will be classed as unexplained. The following procedures will be applied to all unexplained absences:

1. We will call each of the contact numbers you have provided in turn, to try to gain an explanation for the absence, as well as send an email.
2. If we are still unable to ascertain a reason for the absence, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
3. If, after three days, we are still unable to make contact, we will carry out a home visit. If we have still not managed to make contact, we will report this to the police and/or social care as your child will be classed as a ‘missing child’.

We ask that you keep all contact details up to date and where possible have a minimum of four contacts on your child’s record. If you have recently changed your phone number, please check that we have the correct number on file.

This procedure is to ensure that we know where your child is and that you are all safe. Please let us know in good time why your child is absent from school. If you would like to talk to about this procedure in more detail, please contact the School Office.

If absence continues, we will:

• Write to you if your child’s attendance is below 96%, or when punctuality is a concern. 
• Invite you into school to discuss the situation with our Senior Attendance Champion and Family Support Inclusion Coordinator.
• Create a personalised action/support plan, such as an attendance contract, to address any barriers to attendance and make clear each person’s role in improving the attendance patterns of your child.
• Offer signposting support to other agencies or services, if appropriate.
• Refer the matter to the Local Authority for relevant legal sanctions, if attendance deteriorates following the above actions.

National Framework for Penalty Notices

There is now a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England, of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. The 10 sessions of absence do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence (G, O and/or U coded within the school’s registers). The 10-school week period can span different terms, school years or education settings.

Sanctions may include issuing each parent (for each child) with a Penalty Notice for £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days (for the first offence). A second Penalty Notice issued within a three year period will result in a fine of £160 per parent, per child. If a third offence is committed the matter may be referred to the local authority for consideration of prosecution via the Magistrates Court. If prosecution is instigated for irregular school attendance, each parent may receive a fine of up to £2500 and/or up to 3 months in prison. If a parent is found guilty in court, they will receive a criminal conviction.

What are exceptional circumstances?

There is no entitlement in law for pupils to take time off during the term to go on holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure or recreation, or to take part in protest activity in school hours.  In addition, the Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of regular school attendance is “in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school.”

 

The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 set out the statutory requirements for schools.   All references to family holidays and extended leave have been removed. The amendments specify that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are "exceptional circumstances" and they do not have any discretion to authorise up to ten days of absence each academic year.

It is a rule of this school that a leave of absence shall not be granted in term time unless there are reasons considered to be exceptional by the headteacher, irrespective of the child’s overall attendance.  Only the headteacher or his/her designate (not the local authority) may authorise such a request and all applications for a leave of absence must be made in writing, in advance, on the prescribed form provided by the school. The school will usually consider that the parent who has made the application is therefore allowing the leave of absence, and also that all parents who are on the holiday are allowing the leave. Where a parent removes a child after their application for leave was refused or where no application was made to the school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. It is likely that penalty notices will be requested, in line with the National Framework and Essex Code of Conduct, in respect of each parent believed to have allowed the absence.

At the Brickfields Trust 'exceptional circumstances' will be interpreted as:

... being of unique and significant emotional, educational or spiritual value to the child which outweighs the loss of teaching time (as determined by the headteacher). The fundamental principles for defining ‘exceptional’ are events that are “rare, significant, unavoidable and short”. By 'unavoidable' we mean an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time, outside of school term time, regardless of who has planned or paid for the holiday or absence (including grandparents or other family or friends).

 

We will not consider applications for leave during term time:

• at any time in September. This is very important as your child needs to settle into their new class at the start of the academic year as quickly as possible.
• during assessment and test periods in the school’s calendar affecting your child. 
• when a pupil’s attendance record already includes any level of unauthorised absence or they have already been granted authorised leave within that academic year.

The Head of School may discuss the leave of absence request with other education settings and/or the Local Authority to determine any exceptional circumstances.

If leave of absence is authorised, the school will not provide work for children to do during their absence.  Parents are however advised to read with their children and encourage them to write a diary while they are away.

The link between absence and attainment at KS2

Nationally, the higher the percentage of sessions missed in KS2, the lower the level of attainment is at the end of KS2. (Source: Gov.uk The link between absence and attainment at KS2 and KS4, May 2022)

Among pupils with no missed sessions over KS2, 83.9% achieved the expected standard compared to 40.2% of pupils who were persistently absent. 

Is my child too ill for school?

If you’re concerned your child might be feeling too unwell for school, we encourage you to bring them in and we will monitor their wellness during the day. The school office will ring you if they need to come home.  

The NHS offers advice on childhood illnesses and whether they can come to school. Visit: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

If a parent/carer feels it is necessary for a child to receive medication (such as Calpol/Nurofen) during the school day, the parent/carer is always welcome to come into school to administer the dosage.

Further support

If you are experiencing and difficulties with getting your child/children to school, please contact Miss Brinton, Family Support and Inclusion Coordinator to discuss this further. She can be contacted via the office or, alternatively, she can be found on the front gate every morning.

ACL are working closely with schools to support with attendance. They are delivering a short workshop once every half term at Kings Road. Alternatively, they are offering a more intense level of support via a six week course. Please see the poster below for details.