Exe ValleyAttendance
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
We believe that in order for children to fully benefit from their education, good attendance is crucial. We hope you will support us by ensuring that your child obtains the maximum benefit from their time at school by attending punctually for the 190 days each year that the law requires (unless prevented from doing so by an unavoidable circumstances such as illness).
As of September 2013, an amendment to the Education (Pupil Registration)(England) Regulations 2006 came in to force and greater clarity was introduced to the issue of schools authorising absence requests. These changes reinforced the Government’s view that every minute of every school day is vital and that pupils should only be granted authorised absences in ‘exceptional circumstances’. A family holiday is not normally considered by the Government to be an ‘exceptional circumstance’ and therefore will not be authorised.
Please remember that, that should you choose to take your child out of school without the authorisation of the school, then Parental Responsibility Measures could be instigated. This could mean receiving any of the following;
- A Penalty Notice
- A summons to the Magistrate Court which could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or
- A term of imprisonment for up to 3 months.
Over the last two years, school attendance has been badly affected by lockdowns and illness and we are keen to improve our attendance rates this year. We have planned two Staff Development Days in the autumn and summer terms so that families can have a long weekend away, rather than having unauthorised absences. Please make use of these weekends rather than risk having an unauthorised absence and a Penalty Notice or summons. Heads of School have been asked by Governors to report on their attendance figures and to explain any patterns of absence.
Schools are only allowed by law to authorise non-medical absences if requested in advance. We can only authorise such a request if we are satisfied that there are “exceptional circumstances” which apply. A revised Absence Request form is available on the EVF website under ‘Key information’ and then the ‘Attendance’ tab. Or please use the link below.