Attendance

Introduction

At Hatfield Peverel Infant and Nursery School we firmly believe that regular school attendance is important.  To this end, we will do all we can to ensure that our pupils achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and acted upon promptly. 

Principles

• Every child has a right to a full-time education – parents have no rights to request Exceptional Leave of Absence.
• If a parent chooses to send their child to school before they are of legal school age (the term after their 5th birthday), then they agree to abide by the school’s attendance policy.
• If a child has less than 90% attendance, they are classed as a persistent absentee.

Expectations

We expect that all pupils will: 

• Attend school regularly. 
• Attend school punctually. 
• Attend school appropriately prepared for the day. 

We expect that all parents/carers who have day to day responsibility for the children and young people will: 

• Encourage regular school attendance and be aware of their legal responsibilities.
• Ensure that the child/children in their care arrive at school punctually, prepared for the school day.
• Inform the school via www.studybugs.com or via the Studybugs app before 8.30am if the child/children in their care are going to be absent from school, giving the reason for absence. Further details regarding absences from school through illness, are given in our Medical Information page.

Parents/carers are encouraged to contact the school promptly whenever any problem occurs that may keep the child away from school.

Any unexplained absence is treated as unauthorised absence.

The School Day

The school day starts at 8.40am. Children may go into classes from 8.35am when the class doors open and registers will be taken promptly at 8.40am. Children will be marked as late if they miss the register taken in class. Registers will close at 8.40am from when children will be marked as absent.

Children who arrive late must go to the school office and be signed in.

The school day finishes at 3.10pm.

Punctuality

If a pupil arrives late for registration, they will receive a late mark on the register. Reasons for lateness may be investigated and responded to in line with the School’s Attendance and Punctuality procedures. 

Arriving to school after 9.10am is recorded as an unauthorised absence (U) and parents/carers will be notified of this absence.  Continued lateness after the Close of Registration may result in a referral to the local authority requesting a penalty notice. 

Appointments

Parents/carers are asked to arrange all non-urgent appointments outside of school hours but where this is not possible the school should be notified in advance by calling or emailing the office on office@hatfieldpeverel.essex.sch.uk giving proof of the appointment, such as a letter or screenshot of a text confirmation.

Where it is not possible to arrange appointments outside of school hours, pupils are encouraged to attend school either side of their appointment where possible.

Holidays

The school holiday dates are published over a year in advance on the Essex County Council website and it is essential that parents/carers take their family holidays during the school holidays.  It is policy not to authorise absence during term time for holidays and any absence of this nature will be recorded as unauthorised. 

We recognise that there may be occasions where parents/carers feel that there are extenuating reasons for requesting leave during term time.  In such circumstances, parents/carers should complete an Exceptional Leave of Absence Form, available from the school office, outlining the reason for the request and the dates the pupil will be absent from school at least 4 weeks before the intended leave. The Headteacher will inform the parents/carers of their decision in writing.  

Requests for long periods of absence will not be authorised.  Prolonged unauthorised absences may put your child’s school place at risk. 

If parents take their children on holiday during term time without authorisation from the school, a Penalty Notice will be issued in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1966 and the Education and Inspection Act 2006.  

A Penalty Notice is issued to each parent in respect of each child not attending school.  “Parents” includes partners who are not married to, but who live with, one of the parents who has the main care responsibilities for the child. Other family members with parental responsibility, including grandparents and siblings, may also be liable for a penalty notice.

Penalty Notices and Reasons for Penalty Notices/Prosecution

Term Time Leave of Absence

A school can apply to their local authority for a penalty notice if there are 5 or more days of consecutive absence due to term-time leave. 

Unauthorised Absence

A school may apply to their local authority for a penalty notice if there are 10 or more sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10-week period. 

Who is Liable for a Penalty Notice / Prosecution?

Penalty notices/prosecution are now issued/sought for each parent for each child (per parent, per child).  Parent refers to anyone with parental responsibility and may include carers, step parents, grandparents or any other adult with parental responsibility.

For Example:  If a family with three children take a term-time leave of absence, each parent would receive three penalty notices of £160 for each child.  This would amount to £960 if paid within 28 days, reduced to £480 if paid within 21 days.

First Offence

The first time a penalty notice is issued for term-time leave of absence or unauthorised absences, the amount has increased to:

£160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days of being issued. This amount is reduced to £80 if paid within the first 21 days of being issued.

Second Offence

If a second penalty notice is issued for term-time leave of absence or unauthorised absence within a three-year period, there will not be a discount for early payment.  

The penalty notice is payable at the full amount of £160 within 28 days of the date of being issued.

Third Offence / Any Further Offences Within a Three-Year Period

If there is a third instance of term-time leave of absence or unauthorised absence, a penalty notice will not be issued.

Any further cases will be referred directly to the Magistrates’ Court for prosecution.  Magistrates can impose a fine of up to £2500 per parent, per child.

If a parent is found guilty of an offence, this is recorded as a criminal offence and will show on any DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks as “Failure to Safeguard a Child’s Education”.

Transition, In-year Admissions and Cross-Border Checks

All schools will have the ability to check for previous penalty notices/prosecutions issued within a three-year period in their own local authority or any other local authority that the family has lived in at year 6 to 7 and 11 to 12 transition or for in-year admissions.

Data Sharing with The DfE and Local Authority

From September 2025, it is mandatory for all schools to share live data with both the Department for Education and their local authority.  Schools will also have termly targeted support meetings with their local authority, to discuss pupil attendance.  If schools have authorised leave in term time, local authorities may ask to see proof of exceptional circumstances and in some cases, direct schools to apply for penalty notices to be issued.