Absence Procedure

Absences

Parents must provide an explanation for all absences from school by calling each day of absence. Messages can be left on our absence answerphone, or you may complete the form at the bottom of this page. Please leave child's name and details of reason for absence.

The Headteacher will decide whether to accept the reason given and to authorise the absence. It is the school and not the parent who authorise absence.

Following up Absences

Shepherd Primary School follows up all absences from school.

If no reason has been provided for a pupil’s absence by 9:00am on the first day of absence, a parent of the pupil will be contacted by the school office.

If no reason has been provided/obtained for a pupil’s absence after 3 consecutive days, a letter will be sent to the parent of the pupil.

Parents whose children have more than 5% absence from school in a period of 1 term will be contacted by the Headteacher or Assistant Head Teacher for Inclusion, who will work with the parent(s) to bring about an improvement in attendance.

The school may alert the Local Authority Attendance Officer about pupils whose attendance is less than 90%.

Term Time Holidays 

A copy of our school Attendance Policy can be found below.

As per our school Attendance Policy and statutory guidance from the DfE (Working together to improve school attendance), routine term-time holidays will not be authorised.

If a parent is taking their child out of school during term-time, they must complete the form below and return it to the school office, in advance of the holiday. 

Below is a flyer from the HCC Statutory Attendance Team, regarding unauthorised attendance and Penalty Notice Fines.