Absence

Request of absence form

If your child/children need time off school, please fill in the form below.

PHAT Absence Request Form Jan 21

 

Monitoring attendance

Our Senior Leaders monitor attendance regularly.

Where a child has unauthorised absence or low attendance we will write to families to seek an immediate improvement. We consider high attendance essential.

Post pandemic, none of us want our children to lose any more valuable education than they have already, but I thought it may be useful to share some attendance information, which makes you realise just how a few days here and there can impact on your child’s learning!

Our average attendance at Preston Hedges at the moment is over 96%; falling below 95% is not ideal, so it is a good idea to keep an eye on your child’s attendance figures through your Arbor app.

Request for Absence in Term Time – Information for Parents

School attendance regulations changed on 1st September 2013 under Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 which amends the existing 2006 regulations.

Under current government legislation, the school is unable to allow absence in term for the purpose of a holiday under any circumstances. The regulations do allow the school to continue to authorise absence in “exceptional circumstances”. Please find below a list of examples of allowable absences and those which will now be classed as unauthorised absences.

Allowed absence

•  Sickness/illness
•  Emergency and planned medical appointments (Parents are requested to make to make routine  appointments outside school hours)
•  Hospital scheduled appointments /treatment
•  Day/s for specific religious observance
•  School is closed due to unforeseen circumstances

Allowed absence in exceptional circumstances (at the discretion of the headteacher and in advance  of the event)

•  Family bereavement or close friend bereavement
•  Other compassionate grounds
•  Family wedding/civil partnership taking part on school day–not travelling to a wedding unless it  is abroad. We can only authorise a maximum of three days for trips abroad.
•  Family crisis
•  Examinations off site
•  Educational Opportunity – Sport & Performance
•  Attendance at an event at the request of a public organisation
•  Visit to a new school
•  Family re-location visit

Absences not allowed under any circumstances

•  Family holiday no matter what length
•  Family trips
•  Leaving school early to travel to an event

All requests for absence due to exceptional circumstances must be made by completing the ‘Request for Absence’ form which can be downloaded from our school website. The headteacher will then review each request and decide if it meets the criteria for authorisation. Parents should keep their copy of the authorisation in case they are required to prove their child has authorised absence during term time.

Please be aware that any holiday in term time will be treated as unauthorised and could result in a fine of £60 per child, per parent, being issued by Northamptonshire County Council. For absence relating to illness of five days or more, schools may request a doctor’s note to confirm the absence.

We hope that parents will understand that schools are bound by the government legislation and make every effort to comply with the attendance regulations.