Absence and Attendance

Absence reporting procedures

You must inform us if your child is not going to be attending school or nursery.

For illness, you may email the school office, call and leave a message or use the ‘report my child’s absence’ form below.

For any other absence, please complete a Leave of Absence form, available below or from the school office

(Nursery parents – please email or use the ‘report my child’s absence’ form below).

If we do not hear from you or require additional information, we will call you.

For information regarding our Attendance Policy, please visit our policy page.

Fixed Penalty Notices (as of 19th August 2024)

Per Parent, Per Child:

Penalty Notices Fines are issued to each parent, for each child that was absent. For example, 3 siblings absent for unauthorised term time leave, would result in each parent receiving 3 separate fines.

National Threshold:

There will be a single consistent national threshold for when a fixed penalty mist be considered by all schools in England of 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence. The 10-school week period can span different terms or school years.

First Offence:

The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for unauthorised absence the amount will be –

• £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days.
• Reduce to £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days.

Second Offence (within 3 years):

The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for unauthorised absence the amount will be –

• £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days.

Third Offence and Any Further Offences (within 3 years)

The third time an offence is committed a Penalty Notice will not be issued and the case will be presented straight to the magistrate’s court. Prosecution can result in criminal records and fines of up to £2,500. Cases found guilty in Magistrate’s Court can show on the parent’s future DBS certificate due to ‘failure to safeguard a child’s education’.

Please find below a blog from the Department For Education, explaining the introduction of the new National Framework for Penalty Notices: