Attendance

Attendance and Punctuality

At Grange Park Primary School, we believe that excellent attendance is a partnership between home and school. In line with the Department for Education’s (DfE) guidance, 'Working together to improve school attendance', our primary goal is always to work in close collaboration with you to support your child’s learning, well-being, and development. We are here to help remove barriers to attendance and provide support whenever it is needed.

As part of our legal duties, local authorities require all schools to share statutory attendance regulations with parents annually. The information below outlines these national legal frameworks—including recent government changes to penalty notices—as well as our daily school procedures.

Thank you for your continued partnership as we work together to ensure your child receives a consistent and uninterrupted education.

Reporting an Absence

If your child is unexpectedly absent (e.g., due to illness), please report the absence by 8:00 AM or as soon as possible via Arbor. When reporting an absence, please:

Provide details of your child’s symptoms.
Update the school daily.

Parental Responsibilities

As parents, you play a vital role in ensuring your child attends school every day. You are expected to:

Ensure your child attends school every day it is open, except for exceptional circumstances (e.g., religious observance which must be requested in advance).
Arrange medical appointments outside of school hours where possible.
Work with the school and local authority to address attendance concerns.
Engage with any support offered.
Request leave of absence only in exceptional circumstances when travelling abroad (holidays will not be authorised during term time).

You will be aware from previous communication that we also adhere to The National Framework for Penalty Notices.

What is a penalty notice?

A penalty notice allows parents to pay a one-off fine without the matter being referred to court.

The national framework includes:

A single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered of ten sessions (usually equivalent to five school days) for any unauthorised absence within a rolling ten school week period. The 10-week period may span different terms or school years. For example, two sessions of unauthorised absence in the summer term and a further eight during the autumn term.
The Penalty Notice fine is issued per parent per child. The first penalty notice issued will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days of the date shown on the Penalty Notice. This will be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days (this includes weekends).
If a second penalty notice is issued to the same parent in respect of the same child, the charge will be at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days.
The local Authority does not accept late, or part payments and no reminders will be sent. If a penalty notice issued is not paid within the time limits (as shown above), the Local Authority may make the decision to refer the matter to the Magistrates court for prosecution under the Education Act 1996 for the original offence of failing
to ensure your child attends school regularly

This means that if you have applied for a leave of absence to take place in this academic year and the school has not agreed to authorise it, you may receive a penalty notice.

Please be aware that new legislation does not allow schools to authorise any holidays in term time or authorise leave retrospectively. Grange Park will not normally authorise any leave of absence, taken in this academic year unless there are exceptional circumstances. If your child is absent from school without approval during this academic year you may be liable for a Penalty Notice at the level prescribed by the new framework. This will be applied for by the school and issued by the Local Authority.

The Local Authority does not accept late, or part payments and no reminders will be sent. If a penalty notice issued is not paid within the time limits (as shown above), the Local Authority may make the decision to refer the matter to the Magistrates court for prosecution under the Education Act 1996 for the original offence of failing to ensure your child attends school regularly.

Should you fail to request or seek approval for any leave of absence, and/or fail to provide evidence (if requested) to support the absence, a penalty notice may be issued without further notice.

School’s Responsibility & Absence Authorisation

Absences due to illness are authorised unless there are concerns about authenticity or your child’s attendance is below 90% (persistent absence as defined by the DfE).
When attendance is low, we have a duty of care to ensure children receive the support they need, medical or otherwise.
If authenticity is in doubt or attendance is persistently low, parents may be asked to provide medical evidence (e.g. doctor’s note, prescription, or appointment card).
Medical evidence will only be requested when necessary.
If sufficient evidence is not provided, the absence may be recorded as unauthorised, and parents will be notified.

If a child is absent from school, parents can expect that we will:

Contact parents to determine the reason.
Take necessary safeguarding action if appropriate.
Identify whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised.
Assign the correct attendance code.

A few additional reminders:

Lateness and Punctuality

The school day starts at 8:45 AM, all pupils should arrive on time, ready for learning.
Pupils arriving after 8:55 AM this time will be marked as late (L).
Pupils arriving after 10:30 AM will be marked as unauthorised lateness (U).
Our Attendance Officer and senior leaders will follow up on lateness daily with parents.

Monitoring & Support

Attendance is monitored daily by the Attendance Officer and regularly by the Education Welfare Officer (EWO).
If your child’s attendance becomes a concern, you may be invited to an attendance clinic to discuss support strategies.
Continued concerns, including 10% unauthorised absence, will be referred to the Education Welfare Officer.
If attendance remains a concern, we will reach out via email, phone call, or a meeting invitation.

When to Keep Your Child at Home: (For a comprehensive guide, please refer to the NHS guidelines: NHS guidelines

High Temperature (Fever): If your child has a high temperature, they should remain at home until it returns to normal.
Diarrhoea and Vomiting: Children should stay home for 48 hours after their last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting.
Chickenpox: Keep your child off school until all spots have crusted over, typically about five days after they first appeared.

Children with mild symptoms can attend school if they feel well enough.

We deeply appreciate your support and cooperation in ensuring all children receive a consistent, positive, and uninterrupted education. If you have any questions, require support, or wish to discuss your child's attendance, please do not hesitate to contact Tracy Murray (Deputy Headteacher and Senior Attendance Champion).

Absence Request Form
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