Latest News - New Statutory Duty for Attendance applicable to Schools and Parents
From 19th August 2024, The Department for Education has issued new statutory guidance for attendance called Working Together to Improve School Attendance. This includes changes to Penalty Notices. See Attendance Policy - Autumn 2024 below.
Attendance at Crosshall Junior School
Attendance is a national priority. All schools must submit data (both in an aggregated form and on an individual pupil basis) every term to the Department of Education. It is a key indicator of an effective school and, as such, will be scrutinised by OFSTED. Full copy of our Attendance policy is available at the bottom of this page and under POLICIES.
Any absence affects the pattern of a child's schooling and regular absence will seriously affect his/her learning. Any pupil's absence or late arrival disrupts teaching routines and so may affect the learning of others in the same class too.
Please see table below which explains the ratio between number of lessons missed and your child's attendance percentage:
Parents have a legal duty to ensure that children of compulsory school age attend on a regular and full-time basis under Section 444 Education Act 1996.
Types of Absence
AUTHORISED ABSENCES
The Education Regulations (2006, updated in 2013) state that Head Teachers may not grant leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. The Department of Education (DFE) has issued guidelines to all schools detailing valid reasons for authorised absences:
- a child is ill or receiving medical attention; please try to arrange dental and routine medical appointments outside of school hours;
- days of religious observation, notified in advance via email to school office;
- absence due to family circumstances (e.g. bereavement, serious illness);
- sporting/filming or acting/modelling activity.
UNAUTHORISED ABSENCES
These are absences where:
- family holiday not authorised by the Head Teacher;
- there has been no explanation provided by parent(s)/carer;
- the absence does not fall into one of the Authorised Absence categories.
PERSISTENT ABSENCE (PA)
If a child has an overall attendance of 90% or less over a given period, they will be classified as a persistent absentee pupil.
The school attendance officer will work with the parents to investigate the reasons for poor attendance and work together to improve the situation. The attendance officer will determine whether Local Authority procedures are necessary.
TERM-TIME LEAVE
Term time family leave will not be authorised as it affects the student’s learning. The time lost is detrimental to the student’s education.
Recent Government Guidance has removed the head teacher’s discretion to agree to term-time leave requests. Due to the disruptive effect on a child’s education, you are strongly urged by the government to avoid booking a family holiday during term time. Parents do not have any right or entitlement to take their child out of school for a term-time holiday. Children only attend school for 190 days out of 365 and the government expects parents to take absences during the thirteen weeks of school holidays.
Any unauthorised leave of absence could result in a Penalty Notice fine being issued by the Local Authority. This is £60 per parent per child. Non-payment of this fine will result in the case being listed for prosecution in the Magistrates Courts, without further warnings being issued. Parents would then likely be prosecuted for further absences instead of fines being issued. Monies collected are kept by the local authority, not the school.
Any application for a leave of absence for exceptional circumstances must be made in advance and the head teacher must be satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances which warrant the leave. If the parents do not apply for leave of absence in advance, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
A request for leave of absence form must be completed for exceptional circumstances - see form available at bottom of this page.
Where a leave of absence is granted, the head teacher will determine the number of days a pupil can be away from school. A leave of absence is granted at the head teacher’s discretion. Authorised absence means that the school has either given approval in advance for a pupil of compulsory school age to be away or has accepted an explanation offered afterwards as justification for absence.
Lateness
If a child misses the start of the school day, they miss work and do not spend time with their class teacher getting vital information and news for the day. Late arrival disrupts lessons and can be embarrassing for the child. Good time keeping is vital, a life skill which will help our children as they progress through their school life and into the wider world.
HOW WE MANAGE LATENESS
The Blue Door is opened at 8:35am and children may attend from then on.
The school day starts at 8:45am. We expect every child to be in school at that time.
Registers close at 8:55am.
If your child arrives after this time, they will receive a mark that shows them to be on site but the late arrival after the register has closed will be recorded as an authorised absence on the register system.
Parents will be asked to meet the Head Teacher, in cases of persistent late record, to resolve the problem.
Absence due to sickness or medical appointment(s)
For day-to-day absences due to sickness or a medical appointment(s) you must notify the school by:
- Fill in our Absence Form, or
- Email the school office office@crosshalljunior.co.uk, or
- Call the school office 01480 475972 to speak to member of office team, or
- Leave a voicemail on our Absence Line
Please notify the school office in advance of any planned medical appointments by email to office@crosshalljunior.co.uk
Additional Support
If you feel you or your child needs more support, our Learning and Wellbeing Mentors are able to offer support and advise on appropriate external bodies who can provide specialist help and support. Contact our Learning and Wellbeing Mentors via the school office.
Latest News - National School Attendance Award
We have been awarded an FFT National Attendance Award for Autumn 2023 for achieving attendance rates in the Top 25% of all FTT Primary Schools in England. FFT collect daily attendance from over 10,000 primary and junior schools nationally. Well done to our CJS Community!
