It is vitally important that your child comes to school everyday and arrives on time.

Parents and carers have a legal duty to ensure your child gets a full time-education. Usually, that means going into school from the age of 5 to 16.

There are only a small number of circumstances where missing a school day is permitted. Your child must attend every day that the school is open, unless:

• Your child is too ill to attend. 
• You have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on a specific day due to exceptional circumstances. 
• Your child cannot go to school on a specific day because they are observing a religious event. 
• Your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it’s not available or has not been provided yet. 
• Your child does not have a permanent address and you are required to travel for work. This exception only applies if your child attends their usual school or another school where you are staying as often as possible. This must be 200 half days or more a year if they are aged 6 or older.  

These are the only circumstances where schools can permit your child to be absent.

Every moment in school counts, and days missed add up quickly. For example, a child in Year 10 who is absent for three days over a half term could miss 15 lessons in total.  

The higher a pupil’s attendance, the more they are likely to learn, and the better they are likely to perform in exams and formal assessments.  

Data from 2019 shows that 84% of Key Stage 2 pupils who had 100% attendance achieved the expected standard, compared to 40% of pupils who were persistently absent across the key stage.

Please see our policy on how we will support you and your child to come to school everyday and what we will do if your child's attendance becomes a concern. We want to work with you to ensure the best possible educational experience for your child.

Attendance Policy

[pdf 356KB]