Attendance & Absence
Attendance and Absence
To report your child's absence: call 01295 258224 and dial 1 for the absence line
Absence
We know that learning is at the heart of any route to success. We believe that all our children at William Morris have the potential to, and deserve to achieve anything they set their minds to. In order to do that it is so important that your child is in school as much as possible so that the teachers can do what they do best, educate and help children learn to reach to their full potential. It is a requirement that all children attend school for 95% or more of the available sessions in an academic year. There are 175 non-school days each year for family time, holidays and appointments. When attendance drops below 95%, children are spending more time out of school than in school during any one year.
Should attendance drop below 95%, you will be informed by the teacher and may be contacted directly by the headteacher. Should absence figures become a continual problem, you may be reported to the County Council Attendance Officer and you may be subject to a fine. There will be termly attendance awards for any child who maintains 100% attendance for the term as well as an extra play time at the end of the term.
Absence and Penalty Notices
If a family feels leave in term time is unavoidable, a Grant for Leave of Absence in Exceptional Circumstances must be completed at least two weeks prior to the leave date. This can be obtained from the School Office.
All schools are required by law to report to the LEA continual child absence or irregular attendance. The Education Welfare Service is the attendance support of the LEA. Education Welfare Officers are consulted when schools experience difficulties in determining if an absence is justifiable. An Education Supervision Order is used when a child is registered at the school but is not attending regularly. Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) may be issued where, in consultation with the EWO, attendance is poor. A parent or carer may also be prosecuted for failure to ensure regular attendance at school.
Medical Appointments
If your child has an medical appointment, where possible it must be booked out of school hours. Where the appointment cannot be booked out of school hours, please can you bring an appointment card or letter into school with the date of appointment on.
Illness
We understand that children do get ill and there are lots of 'childhood illnesses' that are common in schools. The government have put together a handy poster which outlines common illnesses along with a guideline of how long a child will need to stay home (if applicable) for each illness. See the Infection Control in Schools poster below.
