Absences

Please inform school of any absence by phone or email before 9:30am

Absence due to holidays will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances during term time. Please see guidance notes and application form below.

Absences Guidance and Application

Holidays in term time

In response to enquiries we have received from some parents about holidays in term time, please read the following information carefully before considering taking your child out of school.

Parents whose children are registered at a school or other educational establishment are responsible for ensuring that they attend punctually and regularly. This applies to all children of compulsory school age. (Children are deemed to be compulsory school age the term following their 5th birthday).

We are obliged to take the attendance register twice a day and record whether children are present or record the reason why a child is not present. This attendance data is then sent to the Department for Education as part of the termly census.

Authorised leave - Valid reasons for absence

There are valid reasons why a child may not be present, for example illness, a medical appointment, a religious festival, music or dance exam or an open day at a secondary school.

Parents should advise school by leaving a message on the telephone answer service or email askwith@ycatschools.co.uk before 9.15am on each day of absence to allow the attendance registers to be completed accurately. If the absence is due to a medical appointment then please show the class teacher or Mrs Bentley the appointment card or the text or email appointment notification. Where possible please make routine appointments in the afternoon or school holidays.

Exceptional Circumstances

There are other reasons, classed as ‘exceptional,’ why a child may not be present. Examples of these exceptional reasons are given to us by the Department for Education and are as follows;

Service personnel returning from active deployment

Where inflexibility of the parents’ leave or working arrangement is part of the organisational or company policy. This would need to be evidenced by the production or confirmation from the organisation / company. 

Where leave is recommended as part of a parents’ or child’s rehabilitation from medical or emotional problems. Evidence must be provided.

When a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis.

Such leave must be applied for at least 6 weeks in advance by completing the forms available in the office. Any leave taken without an application being made in advance is automatically deemed to be unauthorised leave.