Absence from school
If your child is unable to attend school, you must tell the school as soon as possible on the first day of absence.
The head teacher or principal of the school will decide whether an absence is authorised or unauthorised. You should check the attendance policy of your child’s school for details of how they manage attendance and what they expect of parents.
Authorised absence
'Authorised absence' is when your child is absent from school and the head teacher or principal has approved the absence.
Examples of when absence may be authorised include:
- illness – for guidance on illness, go to NHS: Is my child too ill for school?
- frequent illness – if your child is frequently absent due to illness, you may have to provide medical evidence to the school
- medical or dental appointments – where possible, you should try to arrange medical and dental appointments outside of school hours
- religious observance – this only applies on days that are set apart for religious observance by the parents' religious body
- child performances – the school must have approved the absence from school before we can issue a child performance licence
- traveller absence – this applies only when a child's parent is travelling for work purposes
- exceptional circumstances –this is a matter for discussion between you and the school
Unauthorised absence
'Unauthorised absence' is when your child is absent from school and the head teacher or principal has not approved the absence.
Examples of this include:
- holidays during term-time
- arriving to school late after the register has closed – check the attendance policy of your child's school for registration times
- reason not known or unsatisfactory – either the school is not satisfied with the reason for absence, or no reason for absence has been given to the school
Head teachers and principals may not grant any leave of absence during term-time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
If your child has an unauthorised absence, their school may ask us to issue you a Penalty Notice.
Lateness
You must make sure your child arrives at school on time and ready to learn.
Late arrivals are disruptive to your child and to other children in the class.
Schools keep records of attendance in a register at the start of morning and afternoon sessions. If your child arrives after the register has closed, they will be marked as 'unauthorised late'.
'Unauthorised late' counts as an absence on your child's attendance record.