Attendance

Term Time Holidays

The Government changed the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations in relation to term time holidays on 1st September 2013.

As a result, Head Teachers can no longer allow any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. This means that holidays in term time will not be authorised and will be marked as an unauthorised absence in the school register.

Unauthorised absences may result in a Penalty Notice being issued under the provisions of the Education Act 1996 (as amended) which means that you could be fined for your child’s absence.

Note: Payment of a Penalty Notice (from September 2013), if paid within 21 days, is £60 per parent/carer, per child. If you do not pay within 21 days the fine is increased to £120 and you have a further 7 days to make this payment in full.

Non-payment of a Penalty Notice within the total 28-day period could result in the commencement of criminal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996.

The issuing of Penalty Notices relates to any unauthorised absence. Authorisation of absence is at the Head Teacher’s discretion and if your child is absent for any reason such as illness, you may be required to provide school with evidence of the absence such as a medical appointment card or prescription.

Information on penalty notices is also available on the Leeds City Council and DFE websites.

If you are experiencing any difficulties that are affecting your child’s attendance, the school and the Cluster want to work with you to support you. Please contact the school in the first instance.

Attendance Initiative

Temple Moor and Leeds schools are running a ‘Fast Track’ initiative in order to improve levels of attendance and punctuality. This initiative is to address attendance concerns quickly and efficiently. Students identified for the ‘Fast Track’ process will be monitored for a period of time and if there is not an improvement then may incur a fine.

Temple Moor and Leeds schools are running a ‘Fast Track’ initiative in order to improve levels of attendance and punctuality. This initiative is to address attendance concerns quickly and efficiently. Students identified for the ‘Fast Track’ process will be monitored for a period of time and if there is not an improvement then may incur a fine.

The government identifies persistent absence as any child who has below 90% attendance. This is because research evidences that for most children this is the point at which absence can greatly impact academic progress and achievement. The table below splits this into days so that it is easier to see the real impact the % has.