ABSENCE Requests

As you will be aware it has long been a statutory duty for every child to be educated until the age of 18. For most young people this means education in school until the age of 16 when more bespoke pathways can be pursued.

As you would expect, attendance at school has been proven to improve the academic performance of young people; it is also recognised as being a positive way to interact in person with peers and develop the routines and qualities needed to be ready to work in later life.

For most young people, attendance at school is part of their routine and, with the exception of minor illnesses, they attend every day. At Debenham we have high attendance rates compared to the national and local average but attendance is still below our pre-pandemic levels.

We have been asked to share with you the new Fixed Penalty Notice guidance issued by Suffolk County Council.

The Department for Education expects that the average young person will have attendance of 95% or above. The expectation is that routine appointments, including medical, are made outside of the school day or during the 12 weeks of school holiday. Furthermore, the expectation is that family holidays or recreational treats are scheduled to fit into these 12 weeks and/or weekends so that young people do not miss school.

There will be times when young people are unable to attend due to an extended period of illness or their attendance may be affected by a longer term chronic condition. Should this be the case, the provision of medical evidence in the form of GP appointments; prescriptions for medication; appointments for CAMHs or other Mental Health support or letters from Consultants/Psychologists will be expected. In the case of the latter, we welcome the advice on how best to support the child and will always work with the guidelines provided where we can. As a rule of thumb any absence over five full days should have medical evidence in line with how adults self-certificate when at work.

The authorisation of absence is the responsibility of the school. We value the strong relationships we have with our parent/carer body, so in most cases will accept that as a parent/carer you know when your child needs time off school; we would of course expect you to seek medical support for persistent or chronic absence. However, where there are regular and persistent absences, the Department for Education and the Local Authority expect us to only authorise absences where there is medical evidence.

From August 2024, there is a new National Framework for Penalty Notices that has been issued from the Department for Education.   All schools will be expected to uphold this guidance within their response to absences. A Fixed Penalty Notice is a fine for non-attendance.   There will be a consistent national threshold for when a Penalty Notice should be issued – this will be 10 sessions (the equivalent of five full days) over a 10 week rolling period. These sessions do not need to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any unauthorised absences; they can also span school years and different terms. This is in addition to the Fixed Penalty notices which have to be issued for unauthorised holidays or other extended one off periods of absence.

Please click here for information from the Local Authority detailing this process.

As it states very clearly, leave of absence will be considered at the discretion of the Headteacher. Leave of Absence for when young people compete in sporting events or drama/musical performances and public examinations will be authorised.   Exceptional circumstances for leave of absence will also be given according to the Attendance Policy.   However, holidays taken during Term Time will rarely be authorised given the fact there are 12 weeks in which holidays can be booked. Likewise, one off recreation events will not be authorised.

Our hope is that we will all work together to promote high levels of attendance so Fixed Penalty Notices will not be needed.   However as we will be monitored through regular Educational Welfare Officer Visits to audit our decision-making, we will be adhering to the thresholds and Department for Education expectations.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school should you wish for further information or clarification

Yours sincerely

Simon Martin
Headteacher

If you wish to make a leave of absence request, you can request by completing:

     Our Online Application Form.  alternatively one of the options below:

        Leave of Absence Request Form in Word Format

        Leave of Absence Request Form in PDF Format