Absence, Illness and Attendance Expectations
Please find below key information, including:
- School absence information; including how to report your child’s absence.
- Medical Absence requests
- Other term time absence requests
- Eastwick’s expectations regarding school attendance
- Information on illness, including guidance on how to identify if your child is too ill to come to school.
- Information on Penalty Notices (fining) for unauthorised absence.
School Absence Information
It is important that parents notify us in person, by telephone on 01372 453277, or by email to info@eastwick.thpt.org.uk, of their child’s absence for each day they are off, by 9:00am at the latest; this communication must include the reason for their child's absence.
Schools have a statutory duty to keep a record of all absences, including whether they are authorised or unauthorised and to note these on each child's annual report. This is part of the national endeavour to monitor and discourage truancy and encourage good school attendance.
School lateness must also be reported as above. Registration closes at 8.45am (Infants) and 8.50am (Juniors) each morning when teachers take their registers.
Permission for absence during term time will not be granted except in “exceptional circumstances”. Medical or dental treatment appointments should, if possible, be made out of school hours. Please use the two forms below to request either medical absence requests or other term time absence:
For medical absences please complete the form below:
For any other term time absence please complete the form below:
Request for Term Time Absence
Attendance Expectations
At Eastwick, it is our shared perspective that maintaining the highest possible school attendance is fundamental in securing the very best education for children; furthermore, good school attendance supports pupil’s social, emotional and behavioural development. This is supported by a recently published Department for Education (2023) statement, shared below:
There is wide agreement among health professionals and educational professionals that school attendance is vital to the life chances of children and young people. Being in school improves health, wellbeing and socialisation throughout the life course. The greatest benefits come from children and young people attending school regularly.
At Eastwick we monitor attendance closely and will make contact with parents/carers should their child’s average attendance meet one of the following thresholds, as defined by the Department for Education:
- Severely Persistent Absence: Less than 50% attendance
- Persistent Absence: Less than 90% attendance
- Risk of Persistent Absence: Less than 93% attendance
- Below Eastwick’s targeted attendance: Less than 96% attendance
Where attendance continues to fall beneath the Persistent Absence threshold, further action may be necessary, including escalation to the Local Authority’s Inclusion Officer, or The Howard Partnership Trust’s recently recruited Education Welfare Officer. Eastwick are committed to ensuring that under such circumstances, support will be offered to families, rather than reprimand, though sanctions are a necessary aspect of the school’s approach to ensure good attendance for all children; see further information regarding fines for unauthorised absence below.
As a group of local schools, a joint statement has been prepared in relation to school attendance; find this below:
EFFINGHAM LEARNING PARTNERSHIP STATEMENT ON SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Illness
The National Health Service (NHS), in collaboration with the DfE, have published (September 2023) guidance to support families in making decisions about their child attending school under certain circumstances. Please follow the link below to access this:
NHS – Is my child too ill for school?
If your child has vomiting or diarrhoea they should not attend school until 48 hours from the last episode of vomiting/diarrhoea.
The school follows the Health Protection Agency guidance on preventing infection. The following document gives more information about whether you need to keep your child away from school if they have an illness or infection:
Infection control in schools and other childcare settings
Children who are taken ill during the day are watched by the office staff and if very unwell the parents or carer will be asked to take them home. We operate on the principle that children who attend school are well enough to participate in all school activities including swimming, PE and playtime sessions.
Penalty Notices/Fines for Unauthorised Absence
From 8th January 2024, Eastwick Schools will be referring cases of unauthorised absence that meets the criteria described below to the local authority for penalty notices or prosecution to be imposed. Please find further information below:
Penalty Notices to Address Poor Attendance at School
A Penalty Notice may be issued as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school (absence without the agreement of the school or not covered by a medical note) and will be used by Surrey County Council in the following circumstances:
1. Pupils identified by police and Inclusion Officers (formerly Education Welfare Officers) engaged on Truancy Patrols and who have incurred unauthorised absences.
2. Leave of absence in term time (5 days or 10 sessions or more); these days/sessions do not need to be taken consecutively for a fine to be imposed. Please note:
- The Education Regulations 2013, which became law on 01 September 2013, state that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
- The Headteacher is also required to determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if leave is granted.
- In such cases the Headteacher/Governing Body must decide whether there are exceptional circumstances. They may request that the Local Authority issue Penalty Notices when the absence is not authorised.
- Warnings will not be given where it can be shown that parents have been notified that such absences will not be authorised.
- Finally, the issuing of a Penalty Notice will also be considered where it is judged that a parent is failing to ensure their child's regular school attendance. This will be considered when a pupil has incurred 7 or more unauthorised sessions in the previous 6 school weeks, which may include a pupil arriving late after close of registration.
If you believe at any stage that your child’s absence from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice, it is extremely important that you act without delay to secure their regular attendance.
Amount Payable for a Penalty Notice
Please note changes to penalty notices from the 19th August 2024. These are detailed below.Unauthorised absence taken before 19th August 2024
The amount payable for a Penalty Notice issued in any of the above circumstances before the 19th August 2024 is £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the Notice, rising to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.
If the Penalty Notice is not paid, the local Authority must consider a prosecution in the Magistrates Court for the offence for which the Notice was originally issued.
Unauthorised absence taken after 19th August 2024
- If you have not incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children in a rolling 3 year period since 19th August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate £80.00 if paid within 21 days and £160.00 if paid within 28 days. This is per parent/carer per child. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.
- If you have incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19 August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.
- If you have incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then you will NOT receive a third penalty notice – Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.
Please be aware that each parent is liable to receive a Penalty Notice for each child who incurs unauthorised absences, for example, if there are two parents and one child, each parent will receive one Penalty Notice.
If there are two parents, and two children incur unauthorised absences, each parent will receive two Penalty Notices, which in this case would amount to £160 each if paid within 21 days.
Surrey County Council is not responsible for authorising pupil absence and therefore cannot withdraw any Penalty Notice requests without the written permission of the Headteacher.
Advice and Support
Advice and support is available from an Inclusion Officer by contacting your local Education Office as follows:
North West: 01483 518130
South West: 01483 517179
North East: 01372 833588
South East: 01737 737777