Absence Reporting

Cleves is a successful school and all families have a part to play in maintaining its high reputation. The curriculum is very carefully planned at Cleves and any absence means that your child will have a ‘gap’ that it may not be possible to fill. Absence includes late arrival, early departure as well as non attendance. Research clearly demonstrates the link between regular attendance and educational progress and attainment. Each absence is classed as authorised or unauthorised. Absences are coded as authorised where reasons are considered valid and unauthorised where no explanation or unacceptable reasons are given.

Sickness

If your child is unable to attend school through illness you should inform us  by email or telephone on every day of absence.  It would also be useful to know the expected day of return if you in a position to state this.

There are two ways you can report absence 

 

 

Pre-arranged Leave of Absence Requests

By law, all absences must be recorded as either ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’.  Although occasional medical absence is unavoidable and often necessary, for example in cases of sickness/diarrhoea, irregular attendance undermines a child’s education and puts children at a disadvantage. It can place children at risk and can lead to pupils being drawn into patterns of anti-social behaviour.  We would expect children at Cleves to want to attend school and are confident that this is almost always the case, with average attendance being over 97%.

Authorised absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a good reason such as illness, medical/dental appointments that fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable causes.

Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no ‘leave’ has been given. This type of absence can lead to the school using sanctions and/or legal proceedings. Examples of such types are: Birthdays, Looking after others at home, Visiting relatives, Taking long weekends, Shopping trips, Special treats, Going on holiday (teachers will NOT provide work for children) and Viewing sporting events (as opposed to taking part in pre-agreed sporting events).

Penalty Notices
The Inclusion Team, acting on behalf of Surrey County Council, may issue a Penalty Notice as
an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school, requiring the recipient to pay a fixed amount.
The amount payable on issue of a Penalty Notice is £80 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice, rising to £160 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days. If the Penalty Notice is not paid within 28 days, the Local Authority must prosecute the parent/carer for failing to ensure regular school attendance under Section 444 Education Act 1996.

Procedures to follow when your child needs to be absent for school are as follows: 

If you wish to apply for leave of absence for your child, please the form below to submit a request.  You will receive email confirmation as to whether leave has been authorised or not.

 

Learning Together