Attendance expectations: EVERY DAY COUNTS

Good attendance and punctuality remain a top priority for us at Garway School. We want the best for your child. Your efforts, working in partnership with school, will ensure that your child will have the best chance to achieve their academic potential and have a real opportunity in further education and the world of work. It will also enable your child to:

Access the lessons needed to achieve their potential

Maintain friendships and develop new ones

Have access to social and sporting events offered by the school

Explore potential life skills

Develop world habits such as good punctuality which are essential to thrive in the world of employment.

We strive to ensure your child has the best opportunities to ‘be the best they can be’, to feel safe and supported in school, and to develop a sense of belonging, both with their peers and as a wider part of our school community. To support that, regular attendance is key.

 Giving your child the best start

90% attendance may seem like an acceptable level of attendance, however in reality that means your child misses half a day of school every week, the equivalent of 19 school days (almost one whole month), during the year. Children who miss this amount of school do not achieve as well as their peers who attend more regularly.

We expect all pupils to attend school as regularly as possible. Our ambition for every child is 100% attendance.

We recognise that, on occasion, some children may experience illness or have exceptional reasons preventing regular attendance. To assist parents deciding whether their child is too ill to attend school or otherwise, the NHS have produced a guide that you may find useful: Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Being a parent/carer can be challenging at times and we are here to help if there are any problems affecting your child. If you are worried about your child/children’s attendance please speak with your child’s class teacher in the first instance. We will work with you as partners to ensure any identified barriers are discussed so we can best support your child’s wellbeing and education. All schools work closely with Early Help, Health and the Local Authority teams who may also be able to help if needed.

As parents/carers you can best support your child to secure regular attendance and punctuality by:

Ensuring a good bedtime routine to enable your child to get enough sleep.

Establishing a good routine each evening and each morning so your child is prepared for the school day ahead.

Making sure your child attends school on time every day it is open, unless there is an exceptional reason preventing this.

Arranging dental and medical appointments outside school hours wherever possible, where this is not possible ensure your child attends before and returns promptly afterwards.

Informing the school, by phone or email, if your child is ill and too unwell to attend as soon as possible (and by 9:00 am).

Taking absence seriously – if your child is not wanting to attend, why is this? Are they putting themselves at risk – What are they doing? Do you know who they are talking to online?

Taking any holidays during school holiday periods, and not during term time - If children are taken out of school for a one-week holiday every year and have an average number of days off for sickness and medical appointments, then by the time they finish Year 11, they will have missed the equivalent of two entire terms of schooling.               

Talking positively to your child about school and taking an interest in their school day.

Attending parents’ evenings and school events.

Praising and rewarding your child’s efforts and achievements at school.

Supporting school staff by working in partnership to best manage and support your child with any difficult or challenging behaviour or circumstances.

Discussing any problems or difficulties with the school as soon as they arise – staff are here to help.

We look forward to working in partnership with you to support your child’s attendance and education.

Term time absence—holidays taken in school time

When can I be given a penalty notice (fine) if my child misses school?

From the 2024-25 school year, there are new national rules on how penalty notices for school absence are used. The new rules mean that all schools must consider giving a penalty notice to a parent when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons within a 10 school week period, and support to help your child be in school is not appropriate. If support would help improve attendance, that should be provided by the school or local council rather than a penalty notice. You cannot be given a penalty notice for absence that is authorised by the school (such as illness).

A penalty notice will usually only be issued in cases of holidays taken in school time, or for other reasons where the school or council is trying to help attendance to improve and you are not engaging in that support or it is not working and they believe that a penalty notice would improve attendance.

Your school or council can still decide to issue a penalty notice or proceed to prosecution for less amounts of absence than 10 sessions (5 days) if support is not appropriate and they think it would improve attendance. For example, if parents are often taking shorter holidays in school time to deliberately avoid a fine.

 When may I be given a ‘notice to improve’ instead of a penalty notice?

In some cases, your school or local council may choose to give you a ‘notice to improve’ instead of a penalty notice once the national threshold of 10 sessions (5 days) of unauthorised absence is met. This is a formal written warning that, unless attendance significantly improves, you will be issued with a penalty notice. This is to give you another chance to work with the school to improve your child’s attendance. A ‘notice to improve’ will not be given if you take a holiday in term time without permission.

 How much could I be fined if my child misses school? How many penalty notices can I get?

From the 2024-25 school year, the fine for school absence penalty notices across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. If you do not pay the fine you may be prosecuted in court.

If a parent receives a second penalty notice for the same child within any three-year period, the charge will be a flat rate of £160; there will be no reduction if paid within 21 days. Penalty notices for absence before the 2024-25 school year do not count.

A parent cannot receive more than two penalty notices for the same child within any three-year period. This is because it is clear that previous penalty notices have not worked. Once this limit has been reached, another action like a parenting order or prosecution will be considered. Penalty notices for absence before the 2024-25 school year do not count in this limit.