School attendance and term time holidays reminder

Dear parents and carers

As a school we promote good school attendance to ensure that children are settled in school, make friends, learn routines and see school as a safe place. Those things come first and then learning and progress can develop. It is really difficult for children to make progress and build on prior learning when they are unfamiliar with what comes next (In terms of routines) or have missed lots of prior learning.

We are aware that children get sick as we all do and we do not want children at school who are unwell and need to be at home getting better. This is especially key with sickness and diarrhoea which is why we enforce the 48 hour rule as advised by public health and the NHS. Thank you for supporting this, we know that it is frustrating when they appear well after a bout a sickness etc, but it is to reduce the chance of spreading the illness. 

It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, you can find guidance at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

If your child is not going to be in school, we ask that you contact us by 9am, the preferred method is to call us and leave a message on the absence line. You can also report absence via Studybugs or Schoolcomms. If you email info@delucy.greenwich.sch.uk, please be mindful that is this is not continually monitored throughout the day. 

We do ask that families are honest with us about reasons for absence, especially going on holiday, as it makes for a rather awkward conversation on both parts when parents have told us that children are unwell, yet the children (or their friends) tell us they are on holiday or out for the day! It is also important for the school to follow safeguarding procedures and be aware of where children are in the term time. This is why we request evidence or flights etc if travelling is taking place. Please see information below regarding term time holidays. 

Children are also expected to attend school on their birthdays.

Term time holidays

As a reminder, there is no entitlement in law for pupils to take time off during the term to go on holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure or recreation, or to take part in protest activity in school hours.  In addition, the Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of regular school attendance is “in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school.”

The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 set out the statutory requirements for schools.   All references to family holidays and extended leave have been removed. The amendments specify that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are "exceptional circumstances" and they do not have any discretion to authorise up to ten days of absence each academic year. 

It is a rule of this school that a leave of absence shall not be granted in term time unless there are reasons considered to be exceptional by the headteacher, irrespective of the child’s overall attendance.  Only the headteacher or his/her designate (not the local authority) may authorise such a request and all applications for a leave of absence must be made in writing, in advance, on the prescribed form provided by the school (we have a form for this). The school will usually consider that the parent who has made the application is therefore allowing the leave of absence, and also that all parents who are on the holiday are allowing the leave. Where a parent removes a child after their application for leave was refused or where no application was made to the school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. It is likely that penalty notices will be requested, in line with the National Framework and Royal Greenwich Code of Conduct, in respect of each parent believed to have allowed the absence.

National Framework for Penalty Notices

There is now a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England, of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. The 10 sessions of absence do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence (G, O and/or U coded within the school’s registers). The 10 school week period can span different terms, school years or education settings.

Sanctions may include issuing each parent (for each child) with a Penalty Notice for £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days (for the first offence). A second Penalty Notice issued within a three year period will result in a fine of £160 per parent, per child. If a third offence is committed the matter may be referred to the local authority for consideration of prosecution via the Magistrates Court. If prosecution is instigated for irregular school attendance, each parent may receive a fine of up to £2500 and/or up to 3 months in prison. If a parent is found guilty in court, they will receive a criminal conviction.

I have attached the guide for your reference from the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

I would like to clarify that as Headteacher, I will be responsible for referring families to the Attendance Advisory Service to request that  Penalty Notices are issued. Whilst this is not a decision that I will take lightly, I am expected to adhere to Department of Education policies and I will therefore be making these referrals if needed. I hope that these can be reduced by parents being mindful of the dates which are booked. You can find our term dates for next academic year on our website.

Kind regards

Mrs Lodge