Please notify the school if your child is unwell on each day of their absence. The date, hour and minute needs to be selected for the start and the end of the absence period. A full reason should be provided for the absence.
If you have evidence supporting the absence report, this can be attached using the paperclip symbol.
Regular Attendance
Regular attendance means your child can make the most of their education, improving their chances in adult life. School gives your child a wide range of experiences in the form of academic lessons, educational trips and clubs. The more your child attends school, the more they increase their opportunity to ‘be the best they can be’. School can also help your child’s social skills, such as making and keeping friendships. A regular and punctual attendance pattern will help your child when they enter the world of work.
Absences
It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to provide an explanation for their child’s absence from school. It is the responsibility of the school to decide if an absence is authorised. Use Edulink to notify the Attendance Office as soon as possible on the first and each subsequent day of an absence, stating the reason for the absence and when your child is likely to return. If no reason for absence is received, a member of our Attendance Office will contact you, usually by text. If there is no response the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
Parents/Carers can help by:
Ensuring contact information (addresses and telephone numbers) is kept up to date using the Edulink One app
Ensuring your child arrives at school on time (8.30am), properly dressed with the correct equipment, and is prepared for learning
Where possible, provide medical evidence for any illness – this may be required if your child’s attendance falls below 91% Please note that our Policy states medical evidence must be provided for any absences of three or more days for the absence to be authorised.
There is no 48 hours absence policy for sickness at the college, however, it is anticipated that most parents/carers would expect a reasonable period of no further sickness before the return to college (min. 24 hours).
Punctuality
Lateness has a negative impact. Being late every day adds up over the school year:
5 minutes adds up to 3 days lost
10 minutes adds up to 6 days lost
30 minutes adds up to 19 days lost
Learners who are late, miss out on important information during mentor time. Lateness can disrupt lessons and affect your child’s achievement.
Sanctions are in place for Learners arriving late to college.
Medical/Dental appointments
It is not normal practice to authorise a whole day for appointments. Try to make routine dental and medical appointments during holidays or after the school day. Where this is not possible, your child should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment.
Illness in school
If learners are unwell during school hours they should inform the class teacher if during lesson time or the Medical Room during break/lunch times.
If a learner has an elevated temperature and/or is displaying signs of illness parents will be contacted by the school and if necessary, asked to collect their child from school.
Learners with minor ailments will be encouraged to stay in school where possible.
We do not normally contact parents if learners are reporting headaches/tummy aches etc unless we have a cause for concern.
We ask that parents do not arrive at school to collect learners unless this has been agreed with a member of staff.
If your child requires medication in school, please complete and return a Parental Consent form for medications. Please be aware that if learners are collected from school prior to a discussion with school staff, the absence may not be authorised.
Withdrawal from Learning
Holidays during term time are strongly discouraged and will not be authorised. If you need to take your child out of school during term time you must complete and return a Withdrawal from learning application. The application must include the dates your child will be absent from school and explain any exceptional circumstances surrounding the request for leave of absence. We will contact you by letter to advise whether or not the request has been authorised. Absences around a holiday will require medical evidence and/or a copy of the holiday booking form to confirm dates.
Attendance Concerns
If your child does not attend school regularly you will be contacted by the school to discuss any concerns they may have about your child’s attendance. You may be invited to an Attendance Support Meeting at the school.
If you are worried about your child’s attendance, please contact the school to discuss your concerns. Your child’s mentor may be able to help you or direct you to appropriate support.
You can find information on school attendance provided by East Sussex County Council below:
https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schools/attendance-behaviour/
East Sussex County Council’s Code of Conduct for the provision of administering Penalty Notices for non-school attendance