At Gloucester Road Primary School, we believe that improving attendance is everyone’s business and that providing a calm, orderly, safe and supportive environment where all pupils want to be and are keen and ready to learn is the foundation of securing good attendance.  Working together to put the right support in place at the right time, in conjunction with all staff in school, parents/carers, pupils, Gloucestershire County Council and other local partners, we aim to remove any barriers to attendance by building strong and trusting relationships.  Regular attendance is fundamental to the future success of children.  We expect pupils to be in school for every session of the school day and for every day that the school is open. Our objectives are to promote good attendance, ensuring every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled.  By acting early to address patterns of absence we aim to reduce absence, including persistent and severe absence. 

What does the law say and what do I have to do?

 This guidance summarises the legal powers and duties that govern school attendance and explains how they apply to local authorities, head teachers, school staff, governing bodies, pupils and parents.

These requirements are contained in:

•  Part 6 of The Education Act 1996
• Part 3 of The Education Act 2002
• Part 7 of The Education and Inspections Act 2006
• The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 (and 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 amendments)
• School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024
• The Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2007, as amended
• The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003
• The Education (Information about Individual Pupils) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 

The legal guardian of any child of compulsory school age has a legal duty to secure the regular attendance of that child at the school where he or she is registered. Failure to secure the regular attendance at school of a registered pupil is a criminal offence which can lead to prosecution of the parent(s) in a magistrates’ court.

 In Education Law, (Section 576 of Education Act 1996), ‘parent’ means:

• All natural parents, whether they are married or not.
• Any person who has parental responsibility for a child or young person.
• Any person who has care of a child or young person i.e. lives with and looks after the child.

The local authority and school will need to decide who comes within the definition of Parent/Carer in respect of a particular pupil when using the legal measures, but generally. Parents/Carers include all those with day-to-day responsibility for a child.

Parents/Carers should always:

• Ensure their child arrives on time ready for the register opening at 8:45am. Gates will be open from 8:35am.
• Notify the school before 9:15am if their child cannot attend for any reason – this is for the child's security as well as administrative reasons.
• Provide a medical appointment card or letter as supporting evidence for nonattendance due to medical appointments.
• Work with the School and LA to resolve/alleviate any attendance challenges.
• Support the school’s endeavours to improve attendance by engaging with the attendance policy, procedures, and action plan.
• Take an interest in their child's school work.
• Make sure their child understands that the parents do not approve of absence from school.
• Support the school in its efforts to adhere to the attendance policy. Should you feel you are struggling with attendance and need support, please speak to our Attendance Champion or your class teacher to encourage open and honest dialogue so problems can be sorted at the earliest opportunity.
• Sign and adhere to the any attendance contracts or attendance support plans put in place.
• Discuss planned authorised absences with the school and inform the school well in advance, at least 2 weeks. 
• Parents should not normally expect the school to agree to any absence during school hours.
• Parents must not take their own family holidays outside of the school holidays.

Requesting Leave During Term Time

Parents should be aware that the law does not grant parents an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time. The Department for Education allows a Headteacher the discretion to consider authorising a leave of absence in term time only in “exceptional circumstances”. 

You may consider that a holiday will be educational, but your child will still miss out on the teaching and learning that their peers will receive whilst your child is away.  Children returning from a leave of absence during term time are also unprepared for the lessons which build on the teaching they have missed, and arrangements need to be made for individual children to catch up on missed work.  Disruption to the continuity of teaching and learning is something we all have a responsibility to avoid.

If requesting a leave of absence, you will need to request to meet with the Headteacher using the form in Appendix C of the attendance policy setting out the reasons. If the holiday is not considered to be an exceptional circumstance it will not be authorised. We define ‘exceptional circumstances’ as one-off events which are unavoidable. Examples may include: the death of a close relative; attendance at a funeral; respite care of a child looked after by the Local Authority; or a housing crisis which prevents attendance. If you nevertheless take your child out of school for the leave of absence this will be recorded as unauthorised leave.

In the case of unauthorised absences, the headteacher may request that the Local Authority issue a Fixed Penalty Notice without further warning to the parent.  Please note that such a penalty is issued to each parent for each child taken out of school.  A Penalty Notice is a fine of £80 if paid within the first 21 days which increases to £160 if paid between 21 and 28 days.  Thereafter, if the penalty remains unpaid this may lead to prosecution through the Magistrates’ Court.

Initiatives to improve attendance rates

At Gloucester Road Primary School, we want all pupils to attend regularly and will use the following initiatives to encourage all pupils to attend 100% of the time:

• Clear attendance procedures in the first instance of absence.
• A clear and robust Attendance Acton plan to address persistent or at risk of persistent absence.
• Informal comments from staff such as: praise for good attendance; challenge to parents when attendance or lateness occurs; enquiring with the child/family to explore reasons for absence and if support can be provided.
• Class teachers will report on attendance at parents evening and liaise with attendance ambassadors to support the attendance policy, pupils and parents.
• Forensic analysis of data identifies patterns in attendance and children / groups where absence / persistent absence is becoming a concern.
• A rigorous approach to ‘support first’ meetings is put in place. Attendance contracts are drawn up for children where little / no improvement is made following the provision of support.
• If, following support and intervention, there continues to be an unreasonable number of unauthorised sessions of absence, the school will seek support and advice from the Gloucestershire County Council Inclusion Service which may result in the issuing of penalty notices and the initiation of legal proceedings.
• Work with other schools and external agencies.
• Weekly attendance and punctuality celebrated in the celebration assembly and the school newsletter.
• The class with the highest attendance rate is celebrated and are awarded ‘Attendance Ted’ as a trophy to keep in their classroom for the week.
• At the end of each term, the class with the most weeks of highest attendance is rewarded in school.
• The attendance of individual children is celebrated through the ‘In to Win’ initiative, whereby a random member of each class who has attended 100% of sessions in the last 5 days is picked to ‘jump the queue’ at lunch time and eat first before any other classes are called.
• 100% attendance badges are given out at the end of each term.
• Attendance Ambassadors will encourage and support their peers to improve their attendance.
• We have an extended schools programme which offers breakfast club, after school clubs, trips and sports coaching.
• Our curriculum is rich and engaging, making children want to come into school everyday.
• ‘Relationships’ is one of our three values and we understand how crucial good relationships with staff and other children are in ensuring that children attend school regularly. 

Is My Child Too Ill For School? NHS Advice

 Statutory Guidance on Attendance and Absence 

Changes to Attendance Law - Letter to Parents 

  Gloucestershire County Council 'Guide For Parents on School Attendance'