At Woodlane High School we believe that regular attendance and punctuality are vital to the success of every pupil. To achieve the maximum attendance and punctuality, the school takes a proactive stance. The school will challenge the behaviour of pupils and parents who give low priority to attendance, as this may be detrimental to the Every Child Matters agenda.

Parents are asked to:

1. Notify the school on the first day of absence, between 08.00 and 08.45, giving an estimate of the likely length of absence. Early dental and doctor’s appointments (where the child is NOT coming into school first thing) should be notified the day before if possible.
2. Send a letter, giving an explanation for the absence, on the child’s return to school.
3. Ensure that pupils are punctual and stress its importance to their child.

New Government Guidelines

the Department of Education (DfE) has introduced new guidance for schools and Local Authorities (LAs) for managing school attendance. They have also introduced a new national framework for penalty notices and amended the law. These changes came into effect from 19 August 2024 and all schools across the country will be expected to follow the new statutory guidance, which include:

National framework for penalty notices

The Government has introduced a new national framework for unauthorised absence. The threshold for when a school should consider next steps are:

• 10 sessions (5 school days) of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks.
• any form of unauthorised absence including term-time holidays, lateness and odd days of unauthorised absence which add up to 5 days within a 10-week period.
• where a pupil is taken out for the purpose of a holiday in term time the school is now required to issue a penalty notice with no requirement for a formal warning to be issued.

At this point, the school will consider if it is likely that the attendance will improve with further support, or refer the case to the LA for formal monitoring. If attendance does not improve an Education Penalty Notice may be issued to parents. Penalty notices are issued to each parent or carer who is deemed liable for the child’s absence from school.

The new costs and process is outlined below:

• First Offence - The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for Term Time Leave or Irregular Attendance the amount will be: £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days.
• Reduced to £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days.
• Second Offence (within 3 years) -The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for Term Time Leave or Irregular Attendance the amount will be: £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days.
• Third Offence and Any Further Offences (within 3 years) - The third time an offence is committed for Term Time Leave or Irregular Attendance a Penalty Notice will not be issued, and the case will be presented straight to the Magistrates’ Court.

Many thanks for your continued support in this matter.