Holmwood School
Absence
If your child is absent from school you must inform us by 8:30am using one of the following methods:
- Telephone: 01908 260596
- Parent Mail
Regular attendance at school is vital to help children achieve and get the best possible start in life. Children who frequently miss school often fall behind. In fact, there is a strong link between regular school attendance and achieving good grades at GCSE - having an attendance rate of 80% is equivalent to missing a day a week.
Your responsibilities as a parent:
Children must receive a full time education between the school term after their 5th birthday and the last Friday in June in the school year they turn 16 (Year 11). If your child fails to attend school regularly you may be guilty of a criminal offence and this could result in a prosecution. All Milton Keynes schools have their own attendance policies and are responsible for managing pupil attendance.
Authorised and unauthorised absence:
If your child cannot attend school you should contact the school as early as possible to explain why your child needs to be absent and to obtain permission to ensure the absence is authorised.
Only the school can authorise your child’s absence. An authorised absence is where the school has given approval in advance or has accepted an explanation for the absence afterwards. In most cases this will be due to your child being ill. If your child has a lot of absence due to illness the school may ask for GP or other medical evidence to enable them to make a decision about authorising the absence.
If the school does not accept the reason for absence or no reason is given, the absence will be marked as “unauthorised” and you will place yourself at risk of prosecution or of receiving another financial sanction.
Medical Appointments:
Try to arrange appointments during school holidays, at weekends or after school hours. We understand that this is not always possible. If your child has a medical appointment during school hours, please bring an appointment card/hospital letter in to the school office as soon as possible so that we can make a note in the register.
Sickness:
If your child is unwell and they will not be attending school, please advise the school office before 9.00am on the day of sickness, providing details of their illness.
There is the facility to inform us of your child’s absence on Parentmail, as well as our voicemail service.
We have a strict 48-hour policy on vomiting and diarrhoea. If your child has either of these symptoms please do not send them back to school until 48 hours has passed since their last episode, even if they are feeling better. Tummy bugs are highly contagious and it is imperative that we prevent others from catching them.
Holidays/Leave during term time:
Schools are no longer allowed to authorise requests for children to be taken out of school in term time, unless there are 'exceptional circumstances'. If you take a holiday which is not authorised by the school then they may refer the matter to the Local Authority who will consider the issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice.
Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) are issued to each parent and are for each child. A FPN is £60 if paid within 21 days, and £120 if paid between 22 and 28 days. If the fine is not paid, parents will be prosecuted in the magistrates’ court.
If a FPN is issued, it will be one fine to cover the whole period of absence.
Religious Festivals:
Please notify the school office in advance if you need for your child to have time off for religious reasons. Only the day of the actual religious festival/celebration will be authorised.
Persistent Lateness after the Register has closed:
If your child is going to be late for reasons that are unavoidable, please advise the school office as soon as possible. You will need to sign your child in at the main office when they arrive. If your child is persistently late after the register the school can ask the Local Authority to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice.
EVERY MINUTE COUNTS …
If your child is late every day, over a year they would lose the equivalent number of days of education:
|
5 minutes late |
3 days |
|
10 minutes late |
6.5 days |
|
15 minutes late |
10 days |
|
20 minutes late |
13 days |
|
30 minutes late |
19.5 days |