“There is no time like the present, and no substitute for being present”.
Fearnhill School is committed to working in partnership with families to ensure students attend school every day, on time.
Why does attendance matter?
For learning
Attending school, on time, is THE biggest factor in being successful at school. Why? Just as a house is built brick by brick, so learning is built up, learning hour by learning hour, with each lesson building on the last. If you miss too many bricks out of a house, it will fall down. If a student misses too many learning hours they will struggle to catch up on their missed learning and face significant struggles.
For life
Ask any further education provider or employer what they expect from their students or employees and the first thing they say will be ‘to be there, on time’. Attendance and punctuality are habits that starts forming now. Taking a no excuse attitude towards timekeeping is vital for success later. Also, the results of examinations stay with a student for life and they will be asked to include them on most future job applications. The biggest factor affecting examination results is…attendance.
For living
Life and school can be hard sometimes. Relationship issues and other challenges can cause issues that test our resilience. However, the solution to this is never hiding. These issues will always exist and it’s vital we learn to deal with them now, whilst there is pastoral help and support available.
What is good attendance?
Good attendance means missing the least numbers of learning hours possible and therefore the target for all students is 100%. Missing a maximum of 1 day per half term for illness is considered reasonable, but even that adds up to 30 learning hours missed over a year.
What is poor attendance?
Missing 2 days per half term means a student misses 10 learning hours, or 60 learning hours per year. This is considered poor attendance.
4 days of absence during a half term is considered ‘Persistently Absent’.
What are my responsibilities when it comes to my child’s attendance?
The government states that your child must be in full time education.
“You must make sure your child gets a full-time education that meets their needs (for example if they have special educational needs). You can send your child to school or educate them yourself. (Gov. website)”
Your options are:
1 a) ensure your child attends school on a full time basis with excellent attendance – our recommended option for your child;
b) apply for another school but still ensure your child attends Fearnhill whilst doing so
or
2. Opt for Elective Home Education, informing the school in writing, and provide adequate education for your child. The local authority will require you to demonstrate that appropriate progress is being made at home or a school attendance order may be enforced by the court and a school will be allocated.
There is no ‘grey’ area whereby a child can be on school roll but not attend school without substantial professional evidence stating that a child is unable to attend school. The school is legally obligated to follow its attendance procedures should a child not attend school. This may result in Penalty Notices and/or prosecution.
Why can’t my child just learn at home?
Your child can learn at home, but not whilst being on roll at Fearnhill School. Fearnhill School is not a provider of remote education. Where the school is satisfied that sufficient medical evidence indicates the child is unable to attend school, the school will provide work remotely for a short time. The matter is then referred to the local authority.
What if my child doesn’t come to school?
In the first instance, and provided you and your child engage fully, the school will provide support to aid your child attending school. This may include an Attendance Improvement Plan and/or support from other internal/external services.
Should these measures prove unsuccessful or there is not substantial engagement, the case will be referred to the local authority.
What steps can I take to ensure a high level of attendance:
- Ensure your child attends every day, on time, equipped and ready to learn.
- Encourage your child to talk to their tutor or another member of the pastoral team if they are struggling.
- Contact your child’s tutor if you are experiencing difficulty in getting your child into the school.
- Work with the school when necessary to improve your child’s attendance
- Ensure the school has up to date contact details
- If your child is ill, contact the school every day they are absent with an explanation. If no contact is received regarding an absence, it is recorded as unauthorised.
- Ensure that medical appointments are made outside of school time where possible.
- Respond to school letters or telephone calls regarding attendance and punctuality.
The legal bit
Family holidays are no longer allowed to be taken during school term time. While family holidays are enriching experiences, the school year is designed to give families the opportunity for these breaks without having to disrupt their children’s education. Penalty Notice Warning letters will be sent as soon as there is an unauthorised absence and Penalty Notices will be applied for as soon as there are 15 unauthorised sessions of absence (7.5 days).
The school retains the right to decide if an absence is authorised or not. As set out in the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 amended in 2013 – Headteachers continue to have the power to authorise leave of absence, but only in exceptional or unavoidable circumstances and each case should be considered on its own merits.
Parents must notify school on the first day their child is unable to attend due to illness, these will be recorded as authorised until such point that the school has a genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness as it pertains to school attendance. At that point school will request that parents obtain medical evidence from an appropriately qualified professional stating whether the child is able to attend school or not. If it is established, in writing, that your child is ‘not medically fit for school’ then the school can submit a referral to the Education Support Team for Medical Absence for teaching support.
Fearnhill School continues to support the Local Authority (LA) with improving attendance by using sanctions for absences.
Fixed penalty notices can be served on parents as an alternative to prosecution where they have failed to ensure that their child of compulsory school age regularly attends the school where they are registered or at a place where alternative provision is provided. Fixed penalty notices can be used where the pupil’s absence has not been authorised by the school and the absence constitutes an offence. Fixed penalty notices can be issued to each parent liable for the attendance offence or offences, which should usually be the parent or parents with day-to-day responsibility for the pupil’s attendance.
The amount payable is £60 (per parent) if paid within 21 days or £120 (per parent) if paid after 21 days but within 28 days of receipt of the notice. If the notice remains unpaid after the expiry of the payment period and the Local Authority has not withdrawn the notice, the Local Authority will prosecute for the offence under section 444 of the Education Act 1996. All decisions to prosecute (or not) rest with the Local Authority.
Ultimately, attending school improves children’s life chances and we hope that the information we have provided will assist you to make good choices in respect of absences from school. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you in anticipation of your continued support to improve our student’s attendance levels and progress.