At Hady Primary School, we want to ensure that our pupils are able to take the fullest possible advantages of all that we have to offer. We want every pupil to attend school every day that they can.

Our attendance policy (available on our policies page) sets out what is expected so that this may be achieved.

Parents/carers should:

• make sure their child attends school regularly and on time, appropriately dressed and equipped and in a fit state to learn
• let the school know if they are having difficulty with attendance so that any available help or support can be offered
• seek permission from school prior to any anticipated absence that is not medical
• not take their child on holiday during term-time
• not extend weekend breaks into the school week
• notify school if they intend to remove their child permanently from the school for any reason

School will:

• make suitable arrangements for the safe daily reception of children
• be consistent in their attendance practices
• keep and mark registers accurately
• follow up any unexplained absences
• notify parents/carers, at least once every term, of their child’s attendance level
• notify the Local Authority (LA) of pupils who have poor attendance, leave school to be educated at home, go missing, or are excluded
• notify the LA and/or the Department for Children, Families and Schools (DCFS) of absence figures for the school and, where necessary, individual pupils

 

Requests for term time leave

Requests for term time leave will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Taking a young person out of school for a family holiday will be marked as unauthorised absence and headteachers are required to consider issuing a penalty notice (fine) to parents.

Headteachers are also required to consider issuing a penalty notice (fine) to parents where there have been 10 sessions (totalling 5 school days) over a 10-school week period. The absences may or may not be on consecutive days.

Please ensure you apply for a leave of absence AT LEAST two weeks before the first date your child will not be in school in order to give enough time for processing. 

Requests for term-time leave for children under five

Children who are not of compulsory school age cannot have their absences marked as unauthorised. However, please apply for a leave of absence all the same as this will help us to keep our records clear and ensure we know where your child is when not in school. Compulsory school age begins in the term after a child has turned five.

How much are the fines for unauthorised absence during term time?

From August 2024, as part of the government’s national framework for penalty notices, fines issued will be:

• First instance of unauthorised absence:
  • £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days.
  • £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days.
• Second instance of unauthorised absence (within a three-year period):
  • £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days.
• Third and subsequent instances of unauthorised absence (within a three-year period):
  • Other action such as prosecution will be considered. In this circumstance, fines can be up to £2,500 per parent, per child.

Money raised by the local authority from fines is used by that local authority to cover their costs and to fund attendance support. Any remaining money is returned to the government.

Please complete the following form and return it to school 4 weeks before any planned absence in term time. This enables us to process the application.

 

In order to complete an application, parents must email office@hadyprimary.chorustrust.org to confirm they have completed the form, giving the date and time of submission so that the office is able to cross check this with its records.

For further information about attendance, please see our attendance policy, which is available on our policies page.