Attendance Policy

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES

By law parents have a duty to educate their children either by regular attendance at school.

In order to facilitate this process, parents with children at Rossett are expected to:

• inform school by telephone (01423 564444) on the first morning of any absence before 9.30am
• provide a note to cover the absence on the child's return to school
• ensure that their child gets to school on time
• not to take family holidays during term time
• to ask permission from school for time off for ‘special circumstances’. Only school may authorise such absences. Absences without permission from school will be registered as unauthorised

‘Special Circumstances’ include:

• caring for a relative in time of crisis, but not long term absence
• illness of student
• special religious observance
• family bereavement
• employer/further education/school interview
• exceptional circumstances at the discretion of school. The pupil's attendance record will be taken into account when deciding whether or not to grant permission for leave

"Special Circumstances" DO NOT include:

• minding the house
• looking after siblings
• birthday or other celebrations
• shopping

SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES

The school will:

• contact parents on the first day if there is unexplained absence
• consult parents if it is felt that authorised absence is affecting progress
• encourage punctuality and good attendance through the merit system
• discuss with parents any problems with attendance and punctuality
• liaise with the LA overall attendance and individual attendance where necessary
• in some cases where attendance is consistently poor despite the above, the school may decide (with the Educational Social Worker) to initiate ‘fast track’ proceedings which may result in parent/guardian prosecution.