Attendance Management Team

Mr Pittaway Director of Student Engagement	Miss Dixon Attendance Officer

Henley-in-Arden School is dedicated to working with students and their families to secure excellent punctuality and attendance. We believe that regular school attendance is the key to enabling young people to maximise the educational opportunities available to them and become emotionally resilient, confident and competent adults.

Every day a student misses school, a total of five hours of learning is lost and whilst we understand that illness can’t always be avoided, just a few days of absence can have a huge impact on a student’s attendance figure and their education as a whole. 

Henley-in-Arden School seeks to ensure that all its pupils receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each pupil to realise his/her true potential. All school staff will work with pupils and their families to ensure each pupil attends school regularly and punctually.

Absence

To help the school ensure your child is safe, please ensure that you and your child keep to the following procedures:

When illness means your child needs to stay at home, we would be grateful if you would phone the school on 01564 792364 by 8.30 a.m. on the first day of absence. A note to your child’s tutor group would be very helpful. Henley-in-Arden School operates a first day of absence calling where contact may be made through a nominated provider for unreported absence.

The school day starts at 08:40am when the registration bell sounds with the exception of Wednesdays where the school day begins 09:00am. All students are expected to be in their designated area for registration. Students arriving in school after 10 minutes after the registration bell are expected to enter through the main reception and sign in.

If your child needs to leave school for any reason, they must sign out at reception with written permission from the parent/carer.

Holiday requests in Term Time

The Department for Education expect us to discourage holidays during term time as it can have detrimental effects.

– Your child’s education suffers;

– Lessons and extra-curricular activities are missed;

– Continuity of project work is lost;

– There is often no opportunity for teachers to set additional work or to assist a child in catching up on their return from holiday;

– The class is generally disrupted; other pupils suffer as a result;

– You will be in breach of your legal obligation to send your child to school.

Government has brought in guidance tightening up the regulations related to pupils taking time off in term-time. These rules came into force on 1 September 2013. Head Teachers are no longer permitted to authorise absence for holidays taken during term time. They are permitted to grant leave only in very exceptional circumstances. If you think you have exceptional circumstances, which will not include family holidays, please talk to us without delay and before arrangements are entered into or money committed.

If exceptional circumstances are accepted, the Head Teacher will determine how much absence will be authorised.​ Unauthorised absence can lead to fixed-penalty notices being issued by the local authority. 

 

LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING TERM TIME

UPDATED INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

 

Leave of Absence

 

• The law states a leave of absence may only be granted by a school if an application is made in advance and if it considers there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.

Expectations

• A leave of absence is granted entirely at the school’s discretion. Permission for a Leave of Absence from a school may only be given by a person who the school’s proprietor has authorised to do so (an authorised person). 

• Schools must judge each application individually considering the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind each request. 

• Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation would not constitute an exceptional circumstance.

• Where a leave of absence is granted, the school will determine the number of days a pupil can be absent from school.

• When making an application for Leave of Absence parents are advised to give sufficient information and time to allow the Head teacher the opportunity to consider all the exceptional circumstances and to notify the parents of their decision. The school may also request further information on the application and supporting documentation where appropriate.

• It is advised that if the resident parent has not received notification or a response regarding the leave of absence application, it is their responsibility to ascertain if the leave is authorised prior to the start of the leave.

• The school can only consider applications for Leave of Absence which are made by the resident parent. i.e the parent with whom the child normally resides.

• Where applications for Leave of Absences are made in advance and refused, the child is expected to be in school on the dates set out in the application. If the child is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an “unauthorised” absence. Where a leave of absence is requested but additional days take either prior to or after the request, they may be considered as part of the leave of absence.

• Leave of Absences which are not made in advance cannot be authorised in line with legislation.  This will result in the absence being recorded as ‘unauthorised’. 

• All matters of unauthorised absence relating to a Leave of Absence will be referred to the Warwickshire Attendance Service of Warwickshire County Council. Penalty notices are issued in accordance with Warwickshire County Council’s Code of Conduct for Penalty Notices and in the first instance, as an alternative to prosecution proceedings. 

• Where a Penalty Notice is not paid within the timeframe set out in that Notice, the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal prosecution proceedings under S444 of Education Act 1996.

Leave of Absence taken in the academic year 2024-25

The law relating to Penalty Notices changed with effect from 19 August 2024. Therefore, Penalty Notices issued for Leave of Absence taken from September 2024 will be issued in accordance with the updated legislation.

Penalty Notices are issued to each parent of each absent child, (for example 2 children and 2 parents, means each parent will receive 2 invoices – 4 in total). 

• First Leave of Absence Offence:  The amount of £160 to be paid within 28 days, this is reduced to £80 each child if paid within 21 days.
• Second Leave of Absence Offence within a 3 year period (from the date of issue of the first penalty notice): The amount of £160 paid within 28 days.  No reduced amount.
• Third Leave of Absence offence within a 3 year period (from the date of issue of the first penalty notice). A Penalty Notice will not be issued and the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal prosecution proceedings under S444 of Education Act 1996.