Attendance

97% SJM ATTENDANCE TARGET

Attendance is vital to children’s learning and well-being. Other than medical reasons and exceptional circumstances which would have been discussed with class teacher/ headteacher, your child needs to be in school every day. Reasons other than these will be classed as unauthorised. Should the reason for the absence turn out to be false this will then be unauthorised retrospectively.

Holidays

Taking holidays during term time can have a detrimental effect on educational progress and achievement because pupils may:

• Get behind in their school work.
• Get lower results in assignments, test or examinations because of missed work.
• Miss tests, examinations or deadlines for assignments.
• May not understand some new work on their return.

Under the Amendments made to the 2006 school attendance regulations it makes clear that Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

• Head teachers only have a discretionary power to grant leave of absence in any school year in exceptional circumstances.
• Absences will not be authorised in the following circumstance

Family Holidays

No explanation is offered by the parent/carer

The explanation offered is unsatisfactory (i.e. shopping, haircuts etc)

Lateness - when the child arrives after the register has closed

'Special Occasions' (when the school does not agree that leave should be given)

If the permission to take leave is not granted and the pupil still goes on holiday, the absence will be unauthorised (G), e.g. this may lead to a referral to the Local Authority and a Penalty Notice may be issued.

Any absences later found to be of an untrue reason will be registered as unauthorised retrospectively.

PLEASE READ the attendance letter below for further clarity on SJM attendance.

Click here for a Holiday Form

Click here for Attendance Policy