Attendance
We take attendance very seriously. Your child’s absence and lateness is monitored closely, as a significant amount of absence or lateness can impact their progress academically and socially.
We request that all parents phone the school office or email absence@evendons-primary.co.uk if your child has to miss time off school for illness or any other reason.
If your child's attendance drops below 95%, you will need to provide evidence to authorise any time off your child has from school. We encourage medical appointments to be made outside school hours. You will need to provide evidence of the appointment for the school to authorise this absence.
We strongly recommend that holidays are taken during half-term breaks or school holidays. We do not authorise any holiday requests during term time. If you require time off for any reason during term time, such as a family emergency, you'll need to complete the absence report form below; a paper version can also be obtained from the school office.
Please note: If your request is refused and the child is taken out of school nonetheless, this will be considered an unauthorised absence and could result in a fine being issued to each parent for each child: any absence that is taken without permission will be marked as unauthorised.
Penalty Notices
Overview:
Please be aware that if holidays are taken without approval, this information will be passed to our Education Welfare Officer. Taking an unauthorised holiday is a Criminal Offence and may result, depending on the circumstances of each case, in either a Penalty Notice being issued or Prosecution in the Magistrates Court.
Penalty notice fines will be issued for term time leave of 5 or more consecutive days. Inset training days are school days and can be included in the 5 or more consecutive days where there was intent to be absent for term time leave.
Penalty notices and fines will be considered when there has been 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10-week period.
Penalty Notice Charges;
- The first penalty notice issued for term time leave or irregular attendance to a parent will be charged at £80 if paid within 21 days. This will be increased to £160 if paid within 28 days.
- A second penalty notice issued for term time leave or irregular attendance, to the same parent in respect of the same pupil is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days.
- A third penalty notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of issue of the first. In a case where the national threshold is met for a third time (or subsequent times) within those 3 years, alternative action will be taken instead and the case will be presented straight to the Magistrate's Court.
Magistrate's fines can be up to £2500 per parent, per child. Cases found guilty in Magistrate's Court can show on the parents' future DBS certificate due to failure to safeguard a child's education. More information can be found on the Wokingham Council Website.
If a penalty notice is not paid then the Parents may be prosecuted in the Magistrates Court. In some cases, a Penalty notice will not be offered at all and the matter referred immediately for Prosecution.
Online absence request form
Regular and consistent attendance at school is essential. Absence and lateness disrupt a child’s education. The law does not grant parents an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time. By law, you must request permission from the Headteacher for your child to miss school for any reason. This form is to be completed and returned to school by the parent/carer 4 weeks before the period of absence, if possible.
The Headteacher may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. When possible for such exceptional circumstances, evidence should be provided. A family holiday is NOT classed as exceptional circumstances.
All evidence including proof of flight tickets and/ or booking confirmation must be submitted alongside this form via the school office or to absence@evendons-primary.co.uk. It is also requested of parents to complete a separate form for each child.