Persistent Absence

The Department of Education deem any attendance below 90% as persistent absenteeism. While all absence affects children's learning and achievement, attendance below 95% is where we would communicate with families around making improvements. It is the responsibility of parents or carers to bring to our attention and discuss any exceptional circumstances affecting their child's attendance. 

Attendance is formally monitored at for all children at least once a term. If data gives cause for concern it will be monitored more regularly. Where attendance is below 90% this is a more serious cause for concern and is deemed persistent absenteeism. If attendance does not improve, unless there are exceptional reasons for absence being unavoidable we will escalate our response.

1. Parents may be informed by letter where the reasons for absence are understood or if attendance, while still at or below 90% has shown improvement.

2. Parents or carers are invited to an informal meeting which they are expected to attend. We will discuss how we might work in partnership to achieve acceptable levels of school attendance. Emotionally based non school attendance can be considered as a reason, not an excuse, for poor attendance and reasonable adjustments can be considered. 

3. If this does not improve the situation we will convene an attendance panel. At this, targets for attendance may be set and we may require that for any further medical absence to be authorised, we must be given proof of appointment or a note from a health professional saying that the child was too unwell to be in school. We could inform parents that term time absence is being taken cumulatively (i.e. not ten consecutive sessions of unauthorised absence but ten sessions over the year).

4. The school can then issue a fixed penalty notice (fine) for non attendance which may lead to further legal action should attendance not improve.

Fixed Penalty Notices and term time holidays

We consider all unauthorised absence to be serious. 

Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority have issued detailed guidance for all schools to use when any pupil's attendance is a cause for concern. Families wishing to take their children out of school for reasons other than illness or medical appointments should put their request in writing to the headteacher, along with the dates of the absence requested. In exceptional circumstances absence in term time may be authorised. If families do not have the absence authorised in advance they risk a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued. 

Since September 2023 it can be assumed that, unless circumstances were genuinely exceptional, all holiday absence meeting the threshold for a FPN would result in one being issued. It can also be assumed that almost all term time absence for holidays will be unauthorised.

We ask families to take holidays in the school holidays. We appreciate that this has a cost. Our own employees, some of whom are on far lower pay than those taking children out of school, are equally impacted by price hikes in school holidays. We also understand parents and carers noting the 'cultural value' of time abroad. We agree that holidays, while not essential, are important for quality of life and experience.. We would ask that people also consider the value to their children of education and consistent uninterrupted time in school. There are around thirty children in a class, the overwhelming majority of who do not have term time holidays. Their learning may be impacted by teachers having to take additional time with children back off holiday who've missed previous lessons.