We Respect. We are Proud. We Succeed.

All parents and carers should know that:

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• Every morning that your child is absent you must contact us before 8:45 am and set out a valid reason for the absence by dialling 0115 9387000 and selecting option 1.  Do not send this through School Gateway.  If you do not contact us then the absence will be unauthorised and you could be issued with a penalty notice by the Local Authority

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• It is your legal responsibility to ensure that your child attends school.  Your child has a right to attend school, it is not your right to keep them at home.

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• The school is following UKHSA guidance whilst there is an increase number of Strep A cases nationally. 

  • If your child is well then they should continue to attend school. 

  • If your child does have Strep A/Scarlet Fever then they should stay at home until at least 24 hours after the start of the antibiotic treatment to avoid spreading the infection to others. 

  • If your child is particularly anxious about this then please do not keep them off school – instead please contact our student support teams who will work with you to support your child attending school

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• If you remove your child from school on days adjacent to INSET Days in order to take them on a family holiday then you should be aware that the school will monitor this and will be unable to authorise these absences .  If this is the case then the school will refer the absences to the Local Authority who may issue parents with a fixed penalty notice.

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• Every morning that your child is absent you must contact us before 8:45 am and set out a valid reason for the absence by dialling 0115 9387000 and selecting option 1.  Do not send this through School Gateway.  If you do not contact us then the absence will be unauthorised and you could be issued with a penalty notice by the Local Authority

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• Term Time Holidays.  High attainment depends on good attendance. Term-time holidays will have a significant impact on achievement and progress and therefore our policy is not to authorise any other than in the most exceptional of circumstances, as deemed by the school. The fundamental principles that we use for defining exceptional are rare, significant, unavoidable and short.   If parents do take a term time holiday that is unauthorised then we will refer this to the Local Authority who may decided to issue a fixed penalty notice.

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• If your child is absent from school and you have not contacted us with a valid reason then our attendance officer may conduct a home visit to check the child is safe and well.

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• The legal requirement for students to self-isolate if they test positive for Covid-19 was removed on the 24th February 2022.  Students are also no longer expected to test for Covid-19

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• A remote curriculum is only “second best” to being in school.  It was there as a temporary response to a national emergency.  Your child will not be successful if they stay off school in the long term and access a remote curriculum.​

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• We do understand that there are legitimate health reasons why some children miss school.  Our approach is not punitive.  Our first instinct will always be to work with parents and carers to support you in ensuring good attendance for your child whatever the circumstances you face.

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• Following the pandemic it is more important than ever that your child attends school so that they can make sure that they get quickly back on track to achieving their academic and social potential.

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• There are 175 days a year when school is not open, this is time for your child to spend on family time, visits, shopping, holidays, household jobs and other appointments.  They should not miss school for these reasons.​​

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• Parents should not keep one child off school because a sibling/friend or cousin is ill.  We do monitor this and we are unable to authorise an absence where we believe a child has missed school because a sibling/friend or cousin is off school.

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• You can view your child's attendance by downloading the Show My Homework app.  

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• If your child’s attendance falls below 95% the attendance officer will send a letter to you to alert you to this.   

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• If your child’s attendance falls below 90%  we will then contact you again and will more closely monitor future attendance.  Our attendance officer may contact you to arrange a meeting so that we can put in place a plan to help you improve your child's attendance.

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• If, following this, your child's attendance continues to drop and we do not think there is a legitimate reason then we may refer you to the Local Authority who may issue you with a penalty notice or even prosecute you.

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• If you are concerned about your child’s attendance and you need support, then the first point of contact for each year group is listed below: