Attendance @ TMS
Where learning is fuelled by creativity
We have high aspirations for all children who attend Threemilestone School. We want children to be in school as much as possible so that they can enjoy school life: academically, socially and emotionally. We want children to thrive as part of a strong, inclusive community. Good attendance at school is vital in order to achieve this.
#Everydaymatters
It is fantastic to know that our TMS community take attendance very seriously and this is reflected in our % being ever so slightly above average. We know we can do better, as every day matters in school, and every day that the child is away, your child will never get back and never learn properly what went on in that day.
NOTICE TO PARENTS /CARERS
The law does not grant parents an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time. Any absence from school will disrupt your child’s learning. You may consider that a holiday will be educational, but your child will miss out on the teaching that their classmates will receive during your holiday. Attendance is vital to academic success and lost education poses a potential risk of underachievement. This is something we all have a responsibility to avoid.
The Department for Education no longer allows Headteachers to grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. If you consider that your request for absence is exceptional you will need to complete the form attached to this notification. A response will be sent to you as soon as possible. If leave is not authorised and you nevertheless withdraw your child from school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised absence
If your child is absent from school without authorisation, you will be committing an offence under the Education Act 1996. We may submit a request to Cornwall Council for a Penalty Notice to be issued, in accordance with Sections 444A and 444B of the said Act. Penalty Notices are issued per liable parent, per child and each carry a fine of £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid after this but within 28 days.
If your child is further absent from school without authorisation within any 3-year period, you will be committing a further offence under the Education Act 1996. We may submit a request to Cornwall Council for a Penalty Notice to be issued, in accordance with Sections 444A and 444B of the said Act. Penalty Notices for a second offence are issued per liable parent, per child and each carry a fine of £160, payable within 28 days.
Importantly, fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.
Failure to pay the Penalty Notice may also result in legal action. If you are prosecuted and attend court because your child has not been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500. Cornwall Council may also apply for the costs incurred in taking the matter to Court, including legal costs.
Absence not authorised by the school may also result in a prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court under Section 444(1) or Section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996, leading to a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a custodial sentence. Again, Cornwall Council may also apply for the costs incurred in taking the matter to Court, including legal costs.
Money raised from fines is only used by the local authority to cover the costs of administering the system, and to fund attendance support. Any extra money is returned to the government.
Missing out on school leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. We don’t want children to achieve less or struggle socially, because of periods away from school. We know that poor attendance can lead to poor emotional health and wellbeing. Children who miss school on a regular basis can become socially isolated; they can lack confidence and have low self esteem. Children can feel like they don’t fit in and this can lead to loneliness. We also know that children who regularly miss school are at greater risk of anti-social behaviour and are more likely to become victims of crime.
There is a wealth of evidence that tells us that children who attend school regularly go on to achieve better outcomes, to live healthier and more enriched lives – and we want to make sure we are doing everything that we can to make that happen for all our children.
Threemilestone School expects attendance of at least 96% for each child.
If you are experiencing difficulty in getting your child in school on a daily basis it is important that you let us know We will always try and help.
Number of days absence – equal attendance %
9.5 days = 95%
19 days = 90%
28.5 days = 85%
38 days= 80%
47.5 days = 75%
57 days = 70%
66.5% days = 65%
IMPORTANT CHANGES TO THE LAW REGARDING PENALTY NOTICES FOR UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL
A new National Framework for Penalty Notices for school absence, including unauthorised holiday absence, is being introduced following changes to the law. These new Government regulations will come into effect from 19 August 2024 and will affect when penalty notices are issued in Cornwall.
What are the changes?
1. There will be a new national threshold of 10 unauthorised sessions for any reason (equivalent to 5 school days) within a rolling 10 school week period for when a penalty notice must be considered.
2. The new rules mean you will no longer be able to take your child out of school for one week’s holiday without the consideration of a penalty notice being issued.
3. There will be an increase in the penalty fine from £60 to £80 if paid in 21 days. If the fine is not paid by the first 21 days, it will rise to £160 if paid within 28 days of being issued.
4. If a second penalty fine is issued to the same parent for the same child within a 3-year rolling period, the fine will automatically rise to £160 with no option to pay the lower rate of £80.
5. If a parent then commits a third offence in a 3-year rolling period, the local authority will need to consider other enforcement options available to them. This could include prosecution.
Please see FAQs below with more information about how the new rules may affect you.
FAQs
If I have been issued with a penalty notice before 19 August 2024, will this be counted if I am issued with another penalty notice from September onwards? No, the new limits come into effect from 19 August 2024.
If I have already booked a holiday for next year, could I receive a penalty fine at the new higher rate? Yes, absence from school can only be agreed when the explanation of the leave of absence is considered as exceptional circumstance by the Head Teacher.
Who can be issued with a penalty notice? • Each parent can receive a fine for each child who has had unauthorised absence from school. • In education law, anyone who lives with a child and who has day-to-day care of the child is also considered to be a parent whether they are the biological parent or not. This will include step-parents and partners.
Do the new rules only apply to holidays during term time? No, it applies to all unauthorised absence from school including holidays. Unauthorised absence includes other absence that has not been agreed such as truancy, arriving late after the register has closed and failing to provide acceptable reasons for absence.
How do I request for my child to have leave granted during term time? You must submit a Leave of Absence Request form to the Head Teacher before the proposed absence (a minimum of 15 days before the Leave of absence is due to commence). Each request will be considered on its own merit, but where the leave of absence could be taken outside of the school term the absence will not be authorised. Do not assume that the absence will be granted until you have received confirmation from the school.
Do the 10 sessions of unauthorised absence have to be taken all at the same time before a penalty fine is issued? No, a penalty fine can be issued for any combination of absences over a 10-week rolling period. They can be consecutive or non-consecutive and can span over two terms (including between academic years).
What happens if I am issued with a penalty fine and I don’t pay it? Unauthorised absence from school is an offence under S444 of the Education Act 1996. A penalty fine is an opportunity for you to settle out of court. If you don’t take this opportunity, you can be prosecuted for the offence of failing to ensure your child’s regular attendance.
What should I do if I am worried about my child’s attendance? Please contact us to arrange a meeting to discuss how we can support you to improve the situation.
It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they’re unwell.
There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn’t.
If you do keep your child at home, it’s important to phone us on the first day. Let us know that your child won’t be in and give them the reason. If you don’t phone us, we will contact our first contact, and if no reply, the second contact.
If your child is well enough to go to school but has an infection that could be passed on, such as a cold sore or head lice, let their teacher know.
Other illnesses
Coughs and colds
It’s fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold. But if they have a fever, keep them off school until the fever goes. Encourage your child to throw away any used tissues and to wash their hands regularly.
High temperature
If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes away.
Chickenpox
If your child has chickenpox, keep them off school until all the spots have crusted over. This is usually about 5 days after the spots first appeared.
Cold sores
There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have a cold sore. Encourage them not to touch the blister or kiss anyone while they have the cold sore, or to share things like cups and towels.
Conjunctivitis
You don’t need to keep your child away from school if they have conjunctivitis. Do get advice from your pharmacist. Encourage your child not to rub their eyes and to wash their hands regularly.
COVID-19
If your child has mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, and feels well enough, they can go to school.
Your child should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and they either:
have a high temperature
do not feel well enough to go to school or do their normal activities
What to do if your child has tested positive
Your child is no longer required to do a COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test if they have symptoms. But if your child has tested positive for COVID-19, they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test.
Ear infection
If your child has an ear infection and a high temperature or severe earache, keep them off school until they’re feeling better or their high temperature goes away.
Hand, foot and mouth disease
If your child has hand, foot and mouth disease but seems well enough to go to school, there’s no need to keep them off. Encourage your child to throw away any used tissues straight away and to wash their hands regularly.
Head lice and nits
There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice. You can treat head lice and nits without seeing a GP.
Impetigo
If your child has impetigo, they’ll need treatment from a GP, often with antibiotics. Keep them off school until all the sores have crusted over and healed, or for 48 hours after they start antibiotic treatment. Encourage your child to wash their hands regularly and not to share things like towels and cups with other children at school.
Ringworm
If your child has ringworm, see your pharmacist unless it’s on their scalp, in which case you should see a GP. It’s fine for your child to go to school once they have started treatment.
Scarlet fever
If your child has scarlet fever, they’ll need treatment with antibiotics from a GP. Otherwise they’ll be infectious for 2 to 3 weeks. Your child can go back to school 24 hours after starting antibiotics.
Slapped cheek syndrome (fifth disease)
You don’t need to keep your child off school if they have slapped cheek syndrome because, once the rash appears, they’re no longer infectious. But let the school or teacher know if you think your child has slapped cheek syndrome.
Sore throat
You can still send your child to school if they have a sore throat. But if they also have a high temperature, they should stay at home until it goes away. A sore throat and a high temperature can be symptoms of tonsillitis.
Threadworms
You don’t need to keep your child off school if they have threadworms. Speak to your pharmacist, who can recommend a treatment.
Vomiting and diarrhoea
Children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days (48 hours).
TPAT – TMS Attendance Policy Feb 2024
TPAT Primary School Attendance Process flowchart
Attendance letter Tier 2 – PSP Invite
Attendance letter Tier 2 -Medical Information
Attendance letter Tier 3 – First warning letter
Attendance letter – Exceptional Circumstance Leave Request
Attendance letter – Exceptional Circumstance Leave Request (word document)
Attendance letter – Exceptional Circumstance Leave Refusal Letter
Learning at Threemilestone School starts at 8.45. The doors open at 8.30 when staff are on the door ready to welcome the children. It so important to start the day positively, building relationships with peers and staff, as well as being emotionally ready for learning.
If you child arrives later than 8.45, your child will need to come through the front entrance where the adult will need to sign them in. Their late arrival will be recorded.
Arriving in school after 9.15 counts as an unauthorised absence and will show on your child’s attendance record.
All registers are completed electronically using the Arbor system. Attendance registers are legal documents.
Pupil Lateness Procedures
If children are poorly, parents/carers should contact the school before 9.15. If parents do not contact the school by 9.15, we will phone the first contact number, and if we are unable to speak to anyone, we will then phone the second contact number.
Absence due to illness will be authorised unless the school has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness. If the authenticity of the illness is in doubt, the school may ask parents/carers to provide medical evidence, such as doctor’s note, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate evidence. We will not ask for medical evidence unnecessarily.
We encourage parents/carers to make medical and dental appointments out of school hours where possible. When parents/carers notify us of their child’s absence, it is important they they provide us with details of the reasons for their absence (including GP practice, dentist practice or a letter of medical appointments).
Where a child has repeated periods of illness, the school will contact parents/carers to ask them to provide medical evidence for each future period of illness related absence it may be that a referral to the school nurse (through the Early Help Hub) may be needed to support parents/carers in managing consistent illness.
With effect from September 2013, headteachers may no longer grant any leave of absence to pupils during term time unless they consider them to be ‘exceptional circumstances’.
The fundamental principals for defining ‘exceptional circumstances‘ are that they are ‘rare, significant, unavoidable and short‘.
It is not possible to write a definitive list of occasions which may be classed as ‘exceptional circumstances. However, these may include religious observance, attendance at a funeral or to visit a seriously ill member of the family.
Term times are education. This is priority. Children and families have 175 days off school to spend time together including weekends and school holidays. It is unlikely that any holiday during term time will be granted and therefore will be unauthorised.
The school considers each application for term-time absence individually, taking into account the specific facts, circumstances and relevant context behind the request. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the headteacher’s discretion.
Should parents be considering holidays during term time, a leave of absence request for must be completed by all adults with parental responsibility before the holiday is booked.
At Threemilestone School, we rely on parents/carers to ensure their child attends school regularly and punctually and therefore concerns about attendance are initially raised with parents/carers.
First day contact – Where a child is absent from school and the school has not received any verbal or written communication from the family, the the school will initiate a first day contact process. Office staff check all registers to identify those pupils who are absent. There are occasions when we are unaware of why the child is absent and we will contact the parents to check the reasons why. If the school is unable to make contact with the first person on the contact list, we will then phone the second contact.
Where attendance does not improve – There will be opportunities for the parent/carer to discuss reasons for absence and support to be given by the school with the aim to improve. Where a child’s attendance record does not improve over a period of time, then the school has a responsibility to escalate the concerns through a graduated approach in a framework of staged interventions which may ultimately result in the school making a referral to the Local Authority for statutory intervention.
“Where a pupil has not returned to school for 10 days after an authorised absence or is absent from school without authorisation for 20 consecutive school days, the pupil can be removed from the admission register when the school and the local authority have failed, after jointly making reasonable enquiries, to establish the whereabouts of the child. This only applies if the school does not have the reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend because of the sickness and unavoidable case”
DfE CME- September 2016
Vulnerable groups include:
Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher (Ms Teagle & Mrs Ewart)
-consider requests for absence and meet with parents if necessary make referrals to the Eduction Welfare Officer (Local Authority) and the TPAT Attendance Officer
-overall monitoring of school attendance
-identify trends in authorised and unauthorised absences
-keep an overview of class and individual attendance looking particularly for either poor overall attendance, anomalies in patterns of attendance and/or unusual explanations for attendance offered by children and their parents/carers.
-monitoring individual attendance where concerns have been raised
-meet parents/carers to discuss the Attendance Plan
-involve other agencies in order to support improvements in attendance for pupils
-ensure that good attendance is reinforced for all pupils
-attend the fortnightly Attendance planning meetings.
Attendance Administer (Mrs Carlyon)
-collate and record registration and attendance information
-update and maintain the attendance monitoring system
-take and record messages from parents regarding absence
-contact parents of absent children where no reasons for absence received
-record details of pupils who arrive late or go home
send out standard letters regarding attendance after confirmation from the Headteacher
-follow up absences with immediate requests for explanation via phone calls or email
-keep an overview of class and individual attendance looking at poor overall attendance, anomalies in patterns of attendance and/or unusual explanations for attendance offered by children or their families and reporting concerns to the Headteacher
-attend the fortnightly attendance planning meetings.
Class teacher
-to act as the child’ first point of contact and monitoring daily attendance patterns
-take registers accurately and on time
-highlight concerns regarding concerns with parents/carers
-discuss attendance during ‘Face 2 face’ meetings
-promote excellent attendance by pupils
Governors
-to ensure that the school follows the requirements and expectations of the school
-to have an overview on attendance and action planning
-to read the Headteacher’s report on attendance of vulnerable groups
Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring their child attends school regularly.
-ensure that their child attends school regularly and punctually unless prevented from doing so by illness or attendance at a medical appointment
-contact the school office by 915am on the first morning of absence
-inform the school in advance of any medical appointment in school time.
-as far as possible, ensure that non-urgent medical appointments are made outside of the school day
-intervene promptly and work closely with the school and Local Authority to resolve any issues when attendance problems occur
-avoid term time holidays
-talk to the school as soon as possible about any pupil’s reluctance to come to school so that problems can be quickly identified and dealt with.
Parents/Carers should not keep children away from school whilst they are resolving any issues
Children
-attend school regularly and punctually
-aim for an attendance of at least 96%
-talk to an adult if they are worried about coming to school
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