Attendance and Absence
Attendance
Queen Elizabeth’s School is committed to ensuring the best for all our learners and are working together with parents and carers to support children and families. All schools are working hard to promote good attendance and have common systems in place to work with families when attendance drops below an acceptable level. Queen Elizabeth’s School has an attendance expectation of 96% or better.
Absence
To report your child's absence please complete the following form:
If you are unable to complete the online form then please call 01202 885233 and select option 1.
Term-time leave of absence
Leave of Absence Form (Holiday Form)
When is my child allowed to miss school?
You can only allow your child to miss school if:
- They are too ill to attend
- You have advance permission from the school
How can I make an absence request?
You must submit a request to the school before you arrange for your child to have time away.
If you wish to take your child out of school during term time, you should speak to your child’s teacher and submit a formal request using Leave of Absence Form to the headteacher via the school office.
The headteacher will then consider whether to give permission for the absence.
You should refer to the school’s attendance policy when considering whether to submit an absence request
Is the school likely to grant absence requests? If so, when?
The headteacher will consider each absence request individually and decide:
- Whether to grant the absence
- How many days your child can be away from school for (if the absence is granted)
Absence requests will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. It’s up to the school to decide which circumstances are ‘exceptional’.
Examples of circumstances that are not exceptional include:
- Cheap holidays or holidays that have already been paid for
- Absence that coincides with important school events such as the start of term or exams
As a general guideline, exceptional absence circumstances usually only apply to immediate family. Requests for leave related to extended family and friends are likely to be refused.
What if I take my child on unauthorised absence?
If you take your child out of school without advance permission (except where they’re unwell or missing school due to legitimate reasons relating to coronavirus – see above for details), you can be fined or even prosecuted.
This could involve:
- A fine of £60 within 21 days (or, if unpaid, £120 within 28 days)
- A parenting order, education supervision order or school attendance order
Why is it important for my child to attend?
Missing, for example, 2 weeks of school for a holiday might not seem like very much, but it can have a big effect on your child’s education.
For example, if your child misses 2 weeks of school every year, this adds up to more than 2 terms over the child’s whole time in school.
Make sure your child attends school as much as possible. This means:
- Your child will have the same education and opportunities as everyone else in the class
- You won’t need to worry about catching up on work, or that your child might fall behind because of missing an important lesson
- Your child won’t miss out on activities at the start and end of term, which are often fun and a chance to develop friendships
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Sources You can find out more about the rules around term-time absence in the following sources: |
Please contact your child's tutor or Head of House with any further questions, who will be happy to discuss them with you.