Introduction
If your child is registered at a school he/she must by law attend that school regularly and punctually. Your child should only miss school if he/she is ill or unable to attend for some other unavoidable reason.
If your child is absent and school either does not receive an explanation from you, or considers the explanation unsatisfactory, it will record your child’s absence as ‘unauthorised’.
Key information
A child becomes of compulsory school age when they reach the age of five and, where a parent has elected to register their child at school, they must start school in the term following their fifth birthday at the latest (although parents of many children choose to send them earlier). A child continues to be of compulsory school age until the last Friday in June in the school year that they reach the age of 16. After this age, the legal requirement to participate in education or training will fall to the young person.
Your child’s school will authorise most absences for acceptable reasons:
- sickness
- unavoidable medical or dental appointments (if possible, arrange these for after school or during school holidays)
- days of religious observance
Attendance Contract
Your school may offer you support via an Attendance Contract. This means that the school and any professionals involved with your child and family will work alongside you to understand what could be affecting your child’s attendance, in which case more support can be offered. Attendance Contracts are reviewed often and usually last around 3- 6 months. Both yourself and the school can agree on how long you would like the contract to be. The Attendance Contract is voluntary and you can request that the Attendance Contract stops at any time.
Notice to Improve
If a parent does not have an Attendance Contract and a child has repeated unauthorised absences, the school, in conjunction with the Local Authority may send a parent/carer a Notice to Improve letter.
The letter will state the support which has been offered and what support is available for your child and family, with set attendance targets. The letter will also explain what is expected for your child’s attendance and your responsibilities.
Your rights and responsibilities
- You have a legal duty to ensure that your child receives an appropriate education.
- If your child is registered at a school, you must ensure that they attend.
What you can do
Make sure your child arrives at school on time. This encourages habits of good timekeeping and lessens any possible classroom disruption. If your child arrives after the register has closed without a good reason, this will be recorded as an ‘unauthorised’ absence for that session.
If your child has to miss school, it is vital that you let the school know why, preferably on the first morning of the absence (your child’s school will have an attendance policy explaining how this should be done).
If you know or think that your child is having difficulties attending school, you should contact the school. It is better to do this sooner rather than later, as most problems can be dealt with very quickly.
