Reporting absence

This year we have brought in a new method of reporting absence through the Arbor Parent Portal APP which is quick and easy for parents and carers and our preferred way for contacting school with regards to reasons for absence.

In order to report absence through the Arbor Parent Portal APP, go to the homepage of the Arbor app.

To record an absence, click on the Quick Actions button and then click Attendance

From here click the green Log Absence button in the top-right of the page.        ­­­­­­­­­

You can input a start and end time for the absence and type in the reason for the absence giving as much detail as possible.

By default, the absence start and end times reflect the student’s full day, but these can be adjusted as needed if a student will only be absent for a short time as a result of an appointment. Once you have filled in all this data, click ‘Log Absence’ and this will be visible to the school attendance team.

Please note that informing the school is a key responsibility of parents/carers.  When staff from both the attendance and safeguarding team take time out of their day to chase families, it detracts from the support we can offer to students in school.  Therefore, please ensure all absence reports are made by 8.30am and the school is informed everyday that a student is absent.  Where possible, please give plenty of notice for any planned absence, for example hospital appointments, by using the Arbor parent portal app or emailing office@abbotbeyneschool.co.uk

The telephone line for parents /carers to report reasons for absence is  01283 759007, Option 1.  We have an Attendance Officer who will contact you regarding your child’s absence from school.

If your child is absent for 1 day please telephone the absence line, clearly stating your child’s name, year group, date of absence and reason for absence.

If your child is absent for a second day, please telephone the absence line again indicating how long your child is likely to be absent.

Please encourage your child to come into school if at all possible. Absence is missed learning which impacts on their academic achievement. You are welcome to contact school to inform us that your child is attending school despite feeling unwell and we can then support them in school.

Medical appointments

Wherever possible, doctor and dental appointments should be made outside the school day. The student should sign out at Reception before attending such an appointment and must sign in when returning to school following the appointment. Please send in a copy of the appointment card or letter to enable us to authorise the absence. Please do not allow your child to have a full day off for a medical appointment unless it is unavoidable.

If your child needs to leave the school during school hours for reasons such as attending an appointment, illness or behaviour concerns, we request that arrangements are made for your child to be collected from the relevant site at soon as possible. If you are unable to collect in person, then the school requires permission for your child to make their own way home. This authorisation can be emailed in advance of an appointment or following a call from the school. This is to ensure that parents/ carers are aware that their child is walking home and are happy for them to do so.

Lateness

Morning registration is at 8.30am. All students should make every effort to arrive at school by this time. Students arriving after this time must sign in at Reception and will have an ‘L’ recorded on the register. This counts as a present. Continued lateness will result in referral to the Education Welfare Officer. The morning registers close at 9.00am. Late students will receive a detention. Students arriving after 9.00am will have a ‘U’ (unauthorised absence) recorded on the register, unless there is an acceptable reason verified by a parent / carer. Where a student does arrive late, it is essential that they sign in at reception stating the time of arrival and reason for lateness. Please note that the code of conduct states that you need 10 unauthorised lates within a 12 week period before a request is sent to the local authority to begin statutory action.

Adverse weather

In the case of an enforced closure or school transport difficulties due to bad weather the “Y” code is used, which is not classed as an absence. This can be applied to students for whom getting to school is problematic due to adverse weather even if the school is officially open. Ordinarily, this only relates to students who live beyond walking distance of the school i.e. further than 3 miles.

Planned Absences

The Governors’ Policy is not to allow holidays during term time. Should the request be for other planned absences such as participation in county sporting events or other educational representative activities the parent/ carer should contact the school.

Requesting a leave of absence in term time

Amendments to the 2006 regulations removed references to family holiday and extended leave. Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

School are instructed to consider a fixed penalty notice for both unauthorised holidays and for students with consistent poor attendance. Penalty notices will need to be considered for children with 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 days) of unauthorised absences over a 10 school week period. Each instance will be looked at individually.

  • For a first offence the Penalty Notice fine would be:
    • £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, rising to
    • £160 per parent, per child if paid between 21-28 days
  • For the second offence within 3 years of the first penalty notice being issued, the penalty notice fine would be:
    • £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days.
  • Following the second offence, every new offence within the 3 year period, will be prosecuted under the Education Act 1996.  If the prosecution takes place, the maximum fine is £1000 per parent, per child.  Please note that it is the Local Authority that issues Fixed Penalty Notices and not the school.

Other circumstances: It is not appropriate for the school to authorise absences for shopping, looking after other children, haircuts etc. Leave may be granted in an emergency (e.g. bereavement) or for medical appointments which cannot be scheduled outside the school day.