AttendaNCe
At Cotham Gardens Primary School, we believe that our community is stronger together, with all of our pupils in school, on time, every day. We are building life skills, life-long friendships and preparing your child for future success.
We know that sometimes our pupils cannot come to school because they are really unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other students. Medical advice is clear however that children with mild illness will often be well enough to attend - for example if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature. The NHS guidance Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) is designed to support parents in their decision making about mild illness.
Reporting Absence
Sickness can be reported via the Arbor Parent Portal or Arbor App - as well as our usual absence line (0117 3772610 option 1) before 9am.
To do this on Arbor, go to:
- Quick Actions
- Attendance
- Log Absence
- Input the absence details, ensuring you provide a detailed reason for the absence
- Submit the request by clicking Log Absence
School staff will then approve or reject the absence. Once approved, it will be visible in the Attendance tab.
Diarrhoea and / or vomiting
Children who have had an episode of diarrhoea and / or vomiting MUST NOT return to school until 48 hours after the last episode has passed. Your child will be marked absent for the full 48 hours and you will not need to report their absence on the 2nd day of illness.
Medical Appointments
Parents should try to make appointments outside of school hours wherever possible. Where appointments during school time are unavoidable, the pupil should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment.
It is not acceptable for a child to miss a whole day’s schooling for an appointment, unless absolutely necessary, in which case the school will need an explanation as to why this is. If a pupil must attend a medical appointment during the school day, they must be collected from the school office by the parent or another authorised adult, and signed out. No pupil will be allowed to leave the school site without parental confirmation.
Advance notice is required for medical or dental appointments, unless it’s an emergency appointment, and must be supported by providing the school with sight of, or a copy of, the appointment card or letter – only then will the absence be authorised.
Punctuality
Please ensure your child arrives on time for school.
When a child arrives late to school, they miss important events like assembly, teacher instructions and introductions. Children often also feel embarrassed at having to enter the classroom late. The table below indicates how frequent lateness can add up to a considerable amount of learning being lost.
Gates close at 8.55am and children should be in class, ready for registration at 9am.
Children arriving after the gate closes should be signed in late via the screens in the school office entrance.
If your child arrives after 9.30am (after register closes) - the morning session will be marked as unauthorised.
Persistent lateness can result in a penalty notice, if your child arrives late after the register closes in 10 sessions in a rolling period of 10 weeks.
Request for Absence
As stated in our school attendance policy, only exceptional circumstances warrant an authorised leave of absence. Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation would not constitute an exceptional circumstance.
If seeking permission for exceptional circumstances leave of absence, the parent/guardian should complete a Leave of Absence Request form. The request should be submitted as soon as it is anticipated; and wherever possible, at least four weeks before the absence. Leave of absence cannot be approved retrospectively.
The school will consider each application individually, considering the specific facts and circumstances. Parents may be required to provide the school with additional evidence in order to support the request. The expectation of the school is that term time holidays should not be planned or booked as a matter of course, as they are likely to be unauthorised.
Where a leave of absence is granted, the school will determine the number of days the pupil can be away from school. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the school’s discretion.
In April 2017 the Supreme Court clarified the definition of regular attendance to be attendance “in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school”, therefore if an absence is not authorised by the school, the pupil’s attendance is deemed to be irregular.
Penalty Notices
Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school on a regular basis. It is a criminal offence under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 to fail to secure regular attendance of a registered pupil at the school. This applies to both resident and non-resident parents who may both be subject to legal sanctions if their child fails to attend school regularly. It also applies to others who may not be the parent but may have day to day care of the child.
Unauthorised absence from school can result in a number of different outcomes for parents and children. Each case is considered individually.
5 days of unauthorised absence
Penalty Notice fines may be issued for any term-time absences that are unauthorised (for example, a 5-day termtime holiday) - whether these absences are taken consecutively or cumulatively over a rolling period of 10 school weeks.
10 sessions of unauthorised absence in any 10-week period
Penalty Notice fines will also be considered when there have been 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in any rolling period of 10 school weeks.
A school day has 2 sessions: 1 morning and 1 afternoon session per day.
A school week means any week in which there is at least one school session. The threshold can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. 6 sessions of holiday plus 4 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).
What is a Penalty Notice?
A Penalty Notice is an out of court settlement which is intended to change behaviour without the need for criminal prosecution. If repeated penalty notices are being issued and they are not working to change behaviour they are unlikely to be most appropriate tool. Therefore, from August 2024, only 2 Penalty Notices can be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within a 3-year rolling period and any second Penalty Notice within that period is charged at a higher rate. Any further offences may result in criminal prosecution.
The law will be clear that where a Penalty Notice threshold met – in each individual case, the school must consider if a Penalty Notice is appropriate.
First Offence
The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for a Term-Time Leave of Absence or irregular attendance, the amount will be: £160 per parent, per child (if paid within 28 days) Reduced to: £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days.
Second Offence (in a 3-year rolling period)
The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for a Term-Time Leave of Absence or irregular attendance to the same parent for the same child the amount will be: £160 per parent, per child (if paid within 28 days). There is no reduction in the amount.
Third Offence or Any Further Offences (in a 3-year rolling period)
The third time an offence is committed for a Term-Time Leave of Absence or irregular attendance by the same parent for the same child (including those by other Local Authorities) a Penalty Notice will NOT be issued but will be referred to Bristol City Council’s Education Welfare service for Prosecution which may result in fines of upto £2,500 per parent, per child. Cases found guilty in a Magistrate’s Court can show on a parent’s future DBS certificate.
Bristol City Council have the discretion to issue Penalty Notice fines before the above threshold is met in cases where parents are deliberately avoiding the national threshold by taking several term time holidays below the threshold, or for repeated absences for birthdays or other family events.
Unchanged Penalty Notice fines are issued Per Parent, Per child. This means that fines are issued to each parent, for each child who is absent. For example: If 2 siblings are absent for a term-time holiday this will result in each parent receiving 2 separate fines.
Further information can be found in our Attendance Policy and in the Penalty Notice Leaflet from Bristol City Council.
