Please not the additional points below regarding school attendance
The attendance policy now recommends that, if not already done so by school, any absence from school should be unauthorised once ‘school letter two’ has been issued, unless there is medical evidence supporting the absence.
– Medical appointments should be booked outside of the school day, however if this is not possible then absences can be recorded as authorised if proof of the appointment is provided. Parents should be aware that unless there is a valid medical reason backed with medical evidence such as a GP letter, stating that the child should not return to school following such appointments, the child’s absence will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.
– Unauthorised Absences are those which the Local Authority does not consider reasonable. Absence from school should not be authorised for the following reasons:
• Shopping
• Haircuts
• Missed bus.
• Sleeping late
• No uniform
• Looking after brothers or sisters
• Minding the home
• Birthdays
• Holidays during school time
• Parents keeping children off school unnecessarily, e.g. for company
• Truancy before or during the school day
• Absences which have never been properly explained
• Children who arrive at school too late to get a mark
• Repeat absences linked to illness without medical evidence