Attendance Policy September 2024
We want your child to thrive in The Carey Federation, every day. We build strong and enduring relationships because we believe this is the foundation pupils need to fully engage in our community, to feel a sense of belonging and succeed.
Every child has a right to access education, and everyone is responsible for supporting and promoting excellent school attendance and punctuality. The Carey Federation are committed to providing the highest quality of education to our pupils and we recognise the clear link between attendance and the attainment of our pupils.
Thank you for supporting this. Our attendance is good because you make every effort to send your child to school, unless they are not well enough to be here.
Whilst we understand holidays can be beneficial; this has to be weighed up against the loss of learning. In addition, children can be adversely affected emotionally when they return to school having missed fun activities their peers are discussing, feel confused or unsure when faced with lessons that follow on from those they have missed and find that friendship groups have changed in their absence. For these reasons, we will not authorise holidays unless for compassionate or extenuating circumstances. If unauthorised holidays are taken, you are likely to be fined.
At the top of the page you can find our updated Attendance above, based on the latest DfE guidance. Here are some key points from it:
Absence for illness must be reported by phone, voicemail, email or in person to the school office by 9:00 am
Absence requests for medical / dental appointments, religious / cultural observances and exceptional circumstances, must be requested by completing an S2 form and submitting it to the office with as much notice as practically possible.
An unauthorised absence is defined as one where we are not satisfied with the reasons given.
Reasons may include:
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Parents keeping children from attending unnecessarily or without reason
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Missing sessions before or during the school day
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Absences which have never been properly explained
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Arrival after the register has closed
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Day trips and holidays in term time that have not been agreed
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Leaving our school without authorisation during the day
Persistent Absence is defined as: 10% or more of sessions missed (based on each pupil’s possible sessions). Absences may be authorised or unauthorised.
Persistent lateness is defined as pupils who have five or more late marks recorded in a single half-term.
Thank you for your support with this.
