Attendance Information

Our attendance target for each pupil is at least 94% over the school year.

Attendance at school is a crucial part of your child's educational, social and emotional development. We need all parents and carers to support us in maintaining high standards of attendance across all year groups, so please inform us of any absences, provide medical evidence for any ongoing absences, and show any medical appointment letters to the school office to have absences authorised.

We ask that contact is made with the school office every day of absence before 9.30am ensuring that the school knows where your child is. You can do this by calling the school on 01685 871520 and leave a message providing the exact reason for illness.

We work very closely with the Attendance and Wellbeing Service to ensure that we reach our target of 94%. Please support us in maintaining high standards of attendance at Town Church, and do not hesitate to contact us at the school if you require any additional advice or guidance.

The Attendance and Wellbeing service will be working closely with families to improve attendance over this academic year. The service will include pupil workshops, presence on the school gates and the continuous audit of pupil's attendance. It is important for both school and families that information regarding pupil absence is transparent. Therefore, please ensure that if your child is absent from school, school policies are adhered to. If you require support, please do not hesitate to contact the school and discuss this with our attendance lead, Mrs B Hallam.

Occasional days off/parental condoned absences

We expect you to make sure that your child attends school every day during term time, as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so.

The schools are open to pupils for 190 days of the year, which leaves 175 days non-school days a year (including school holidays and weekends) for families to spend time together and undertake routine appointments.

The following reasons are not acceptable for taking your child out school:

to look after siblings
shopping trips
days off for birthdays
to visit relatives
sleeping in
to go on day trips

There will be days when your child cannot attend school.

For every day your child is absent, you must inform the school in line with the school’s attendance policy. . The school will decide whether to authorise the absence. Your child’s school can only authorise an absence if:

your child is too ill to attend school
they have a dental or medical appointment
there is a bereavement of a relative
there is a need for religious observance

Illness

Is your child well enough for school?

Not every illness needs to keep your child from school. If you keep your child away from school, be sure to inform the school on the first day of their absence and throughout the period they are away from school.

Don’t forget to tell the school!

It’s important to inform the school if your child is going to be absent. On the first day of your child's illness, telephone the school to tell them that your child will be staying at home. The school will ask about the nature of the illness and how long you expect the absence to last. If it becomes clear that your child will be away for longer than expected, phone the school as soon as possible to explain this.

Holidays

If you are planning a family holiday during the school term, you must make a formal request for time off to the Head Teacher prior to booking any holiday.

From September 2014, the Local Authority has introduced a firmer approach to holidays during term time. Head teachers will consider each request on its own merits and have the discretion to authorise or unauthorise every leave of absence period. Should there be any special family circumstances that prohibit a family taking a holiday during the school holiday periods, the head teacher may possibly decide to authorise the request. Such exceptions include, but are not limited to:

families of serving armed forces personnel (parents)
parent or child experiencing a life-limiting illness
families that have suffered an acute trauma

In some cases, unauthorised absence may lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice, if the pupil is of compulsory school age. Please click on the link for the latest information on Fixed Penalty Notices for Non Attendance at school.

If you need to contact our service, please email aws@rctcbc.gov.uk