Only with the full support of parents/carers can high attendance be guaranteed: Parents or carers are legally responsible for ensuring their children attend school regularly and may risk prosecution if they fail in this duty.

Parents are expected to:

• Make sure their child attends everyday on time
• Contact the school to report their child’s absence before 8:30am on the day of the absence via telephone messages, Class Charts and via email attendance@highamlaneschool.co.uk informing school of the reason for absence when they are expected to return. This must also be done on each subsequent day of absence.
• Provide the school with more than 1 emergency contact number for their child and ensure school are notified if contact details change
• Ensure that, where possible, appointments for their child are made outside of the school day and after 4:00pm to account for if their child has an after school detention.
• Keep to any attendance contracts that they make with the school and/or local authority
• Seek support, where necessary, for maintaining good attendance, by contacting their child’s Progress Leader who can be contacted via contactus@highamlaneschool.co.uk

Students are allowed on school site from 8:15am onwards where there is supervision in the Library. Outside spaces are not supervised and therefore students arriving before 8:30am must go directly to the Library and must enter only via the Brookdale Road entrance.

Students should be on school site by 8:35am, ready for line up with their form tutor on the playground at 8:40am. The main school gate on Higham Lane will close at 8:40am and students arriving at 8.40am or after, need to report to Student Services via Brookdale Drive entrance.

In line with this Praise and Behaviour Policy, any late students (arriving on or after 8:40am) without a valid reason provided by their parent/carer will be issued with a Late to School on Class Charts and will serve a 45-minute detention on the same day from 3:15pm until 4:00pm.

Your child’s attendance can be found via the MyEd App and shows your child’s current (year to date) attendance, as well as, if your child has any authorised or unauthorised absence. An example can be seen below. Parents/carers are expected to record your child attendance into their organiser on a weekly basis. The school will also inform parent/carers about their child’s attendance and absence levels via termly Progress Reports.

All images ©MyEd App by Iris Reach.

Unplanned Absence

The student’s parent/carer must notify the school of the reason for the absence on the first day of an unplanned absence by 8:30am or as soon as practically possible, providing details of the reason for their child's absence and expected day of return to school . This can be done via Class Charts, emailing attendance@highamlaneschool.co.uk, or a phone call to school on 024 7638 8123 or 024 7675 7000. If their child has further days absence after the first day, parent/carer/carers must continue to notify school on each day of absence.

 

Planned absence

Attending a medical or dental appointment will be counted as authorised as long as the student’s parent/carer/ notifies the school in advance of the appointment. However, we encourage parent/carers to make medical and dental appointments out of school hours where possible. Where this is not possible, the student should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary and should return to school following the appointment if this is within the school day.

 

Leave of Absence for non-medical reasons

The law states a leave of absence may only be granted by a school if an application is made in advance and if it considers there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.

Expectations

• A leave of absence is granted entirely at the school’s discretion. Permission for a Leave of Absence from a school may only be given by a person who the school’s proprietor has authorised to do so (an authorised person). 
• A Leave of Absence Form must be completed and submitted to the school in advance (at least 3 weeks’ notice before the proposed absence). The Warwickshire County Council Leave of Absence Application Form can be found at: https://www.highamlaneschool.co.uk/school-information-attendance

• Schools must judge each application individually considering the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind each request. 

• Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation would not constitute an exceptional circumstance.

• Where a leave of absence is granted, the school will determine the number of days a pupil can be absent from school.

• When making an application for Leave of Absence parents are advised to give sufficient information and time to allow the Head teacher the opportunity to consider all the exceptional circumstances and to notify the parents of their decision. The school may also request further information on the application and supporting documentation where appropriate.

• It is advised that if the resident parent has not received notification or a response regarding the leave of absence application, it is their responsibility to ascertain if the leave is authorised prior to the start of the leave.

• The school can only consider applications for Leave of Absence which are made by the resident parent. i.e. the parent with whom the child normally resides.

• Where applications for Leave of Absences are made in advance and refused, the child is expected to be in school on the dates set out in the application. If the child is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an “unauthorised” absence. Where a leave of absence is requested but additional days take either prior to or after the request, they may be considered as part of the leave of absence.

• Leave of Absences which are not made in advance cannot be authorised in line with legislation.  This will result in the absence being recorded as ‘unauthorised’. 

• All matters of unauthorised absence relating to a Leave of Absence will be referred to the Warwickshire Attendance Service of Warwickshire County Council. Penalty notices are issued in accordance with Warwickshire County Council’s Code of Conduct for Penalty Notices and in the first instance, as an alternative to prosecution proceedings. 

• Where a Penalty Notice is not paid within the timeframe set out in that Notice, the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal prosecution proceedings under S444 of Education Act 1996.

 

Leave of Absence taken in the academic year 2024-25

The law relating to Penalty Notices is due to change with effect from 19 August 2024. Therefore, Penalty Notices issued for Leave of Absence after this date will be issued in accordance with the updated legislation.

Penalty Notices are issued to each parent of each absent child, (for example 2 children and 2 parents, means each parent will receive 2 invoices – 4 in total). 

• First Leave of Absence Offence:  The amount of £160 to be paid within 28 days, this is reduced to £80 each child if paid within 21 days.
• Second Leave of Absence Offence within a 3-year period (from the date of issue of the first penalty notice): The amount of £160 paid within 28 days.  No reduced amount.
• Third Leave of Absence offence within a 3-year period (from the date of issue of the first penalty notice). A Penalty Notice will not be issued and the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal prosecution proceedings under S444 of Education Act 1996.

For further details on Leave of absences, Penalty Notices and external support for attendance, please visit the Warwickshire Attendance Services at: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/school-attendance-exclusions/school-attendance-guidance-parentscarers

The NHS have produced a helpful guide for parent/carers on which common illnesses require you to keep your child at home, a summary of the guidance is below:

High temperature - If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes away.

Coughs and colds - It's fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold. But if they have a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes.

Head lice and nits - There's no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice. You can treat head lice and nits without seeing a GP.

Sore throat - You can still send your child to school if they have a sore throat. But if they also have a high temperature, they should stay at home until it goes away. A sore throat and a high temperature can be symptoms of tonsillitis.

Vomiting and diarrhoea - Children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days (48 hours).

For further details, the NHS guidance can be found at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/626669cb8fa8f523b7221b98/UKHSA-should-I-keep-my_child_off_school_guidance-A3-poster.pdf 

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

This is statutory government guidance for schools, academy trusts, governing bodies and local authorities on maintaining high levels of school attendance, including roles and responsibilities.

Further details of Working together to improve school attendance can be found at: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2022/12/aaa-guide-for-parents-on-school-attendance.pdf

The ‘Missing Child, Missing Grades’ Report from the Children’s Commissioner (November 2023) confirmed the strong link between absence and attainment.

The report found that:

• Poor attendance has a dramatic relationship with GCSE results. While 78% of all children who were rarely absent in both years passed at least 5 GCSEs including English and maths, only 36% of children who were persistently absent in both years and just 5% of children who were severely absent in both years reached this same standard.
• When pupils’ attendance improves, the likelihood of achieving qualifications at the end of school massively increases. More than half (54%) of pupils who were persistently absent in Year 10 and then rarely absent in Year 11 passed at least 5 GCSEs including English and maths, compared to 36% of pupils who were persistently absent in both years.

Further details of the report can be found at: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/missing-children-missing-grades/

The government have produced guidance for parent/carers on how to maintain good school attendance for your child, a summary of the guidance is below:

• Establishing good hygiene habits
• Knowing signs and symptoms of common illnesses and which ones require you to keep your child at home
• Ensuring your child’s vaccinations are up to date
• How to protect your child from a cold

For further details of the guidance, this  can be found at:

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/03/a-parents-guide-to-keeping-kids-healthy-this-school-year/

The NHS offer guidance for parents/carers of child that feel anxious or worried:

It's normal for children to feel a little anxious sometimes. They may get a tummy ache or headache, or have problems eating or sleeping. Avoiding school can make a child's anxiety about going to school worse. It's good to talk about any worries they may have such as bullying, friendship problems, school work or sensory problems. You can also work with the school to find ways to help them. If your child is still struggling and it's affecting their everyday life, it might be good to talk to your GP or school nurse.

The NHS guidance can be found at:

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/advice-for-parents/anxiety-in-children/

For further support and guidance can be found at:

https://www.annafreud.org/resources/schools-and-colleges/advice-for-parents-and-carers-talking-mental-health-with-young-people-at-secondary-school/