Newsletters

 
09/7/25

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope this letter finds you well and looking forward to the summer holidays. As part of our commitment to good school attendance, we would like to inform you about some important changes regarding holiday absences and unauthorised leave. The Department for Education (DFE) have updated guidance on improving school attendance, in collaboration with the Local Authority, which all schools must adhere to.

Our schools consistently emphasise the significance of good attendance. We recognise that absences impact not only a pupil’s academic performance but also their social well-being within the school community. We closely monitor the attendance of all our pupils and communicate with families when concerns arise. Our aim is to continue to work together with you, as families, to address any issues and we will provide support and explore solutions together to support all pupils to be in school regularly and on time.

Reporting absence
If your child is going to be absent from school, you should notify school by 8.30am, providing the reason on each and every day of the absence. Please leave an answerphone message with the child’s name, class and reason for absence. Accurate and detailed attendance records are essential, and your swift action helps our admin staff with this.

Term time holidays
The DFE emphasises that term-time holiday should not be taken. Absence during this time can significantly impact your child’s education. You should plan holidays during breaks to minimise disruption in learning. Any such absences will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.

Unauthorised absence
These could be situations where a pupil is absent without valid reason or permission. This could include being absent without notifying the school of the reason, taking term-time holidays, arriving late to school or leaving early without a valid reason. 
 
Exceptional circumstances for leave
Very occasionally, a leave of absence may be authorised. The criteria for this is very strict and evidence must be provided when applying for this. The exceptional circumstances are clearly outlined on the attendance policy and on the school website. Please read these before you submit a request for leave in exceptional circumstances.

It is your responsibility to read the information included in the policy below before booking or taking any leave of absence in term time.

Unauthorised absences, penalty notices and prosecution
It is important to be aware that poor attendance will result in the issuing of penalty notices to parents. These notices can apply to term-time holidays, any unauthorised absences, or a combination of both.
The national threshold for issuing a penalty notice in England is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a 10-week period. This typically equates to 5 school days.

• e.g. 4 sessions of holiday taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register closes all within 10 school weeks
• These sessions can be consecutive (e.g. 10 sessions of holiday in one week) or not (e.g. 6 sessions of unauthorised absence taken in 1 week and 1 per week for the next 4 weeks).
• The period of 10 school weeks can also span different terms or school years (e.g. 2 sessions of unauthorised absence in the Summer Term and a further 8 within the Autumn Term).

 
A Penalty Notice will be issued under the following legislation:  
• Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 places upon parents a duty to ensure that their child
receives efficient full-time education either by regular attendance at school or otherwise  
• Where a child is a registered pupil at a school and the parent fails to ensure that child’s
regular attendance at school the parent is liable to be prosecuted for a criminal offence
under Section 444 of the Education Act  
• In cases where this duty is not being fulfilled Section 444B of the same Act empowers the
Local Authority to issue a Penalty
Please note: A Fixed Penalty Notice can also be issued if your child is seen in a public place within
the first 5 days of an exclusion from their school.
 
Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring that your child’s education remains a priority.

Yours sincerely
The governing body of the Federation of Kirkby Malzeard and St Nicholas CE Schools

Attendance and Absence Policy