Attendance
Late/Absence/Fixed Penalty Notice information
Reporting your child absent
If your child is off sick or will be absent from school, we need to be informed by 9.30am at the latest. To use the pupil absence line please call the school and press 1 and leave your child’s name, class and a brief message explaining why they are absent from school. If we do not hear from you by 9.30am then your child will be marked as having unauthorised absence.
Attendance Intervention system and procedures
Homer First School will follow the intervention system outlined below:
95% and under = a reminder letter
85%-90% following reminder letter and a drop in attendance = warning letter and interview with parent/carer to discuss support
85% and below= referral to EWO initiating meeting between parent/carers, EWO and Headteacher.
Did you know?
• 90% attendance (10% absence) – is the equivalent of missing half a day per week every week of the year.
• Arriving 10 minutes late every day is the equivalent to almost a whole hour of lessons missed each week for your child, which over the year adds up to nearly 2 weeks of learning.
If you are running late and arrive after 8.40am, please come to the main reception and buzz the intercom on the wall.
Requests for absence
Requests for your child to be absent from school should be made at least two weeks in advance, where possible, using the absence request form which is available below. This includes absences for medical appointments. Paper copies of the form are also available from the school office.
Fixed Penalty Notices for absences
The Department for Education has issued new statutory guidance as part of efforts to maintain high standards of school attendance and we are required to update you about changes to the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices from Autumn 2024. This applies to children once they have reached compulsory school age.
From Autumn 2024 there are significant changes in the way that penalty notices are to be issued and an increase in the charges associated with them.
The national threshold for issuing a penalty notice is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. This can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. 4 sessions of term time holiday plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the registers close). These sessions can be consecutive or can now span across different terms or school years.
When the threshold has been met the school will either offer appropriate support if appropriate or immediately issue a penalty notice if it is the best available tool to improve a pupil’s attendance.
Notices to Improve
A Notice to Improve is a final opportunity for a parent to engage in support and improve before a penalty notice is issued. If the national threshold has been met and support is appropriate but offers of support have not been engaged with by the parent or guardian or have not worked, a Notice to Improve should usually be sent to give parents or guardians a final chance to engage in support. A Notice to Improve does not need to be issued in cases where support is not appropriate and an authorised officer can choose not to issue one in any case, including cases where support is appropriate but they do not expect a Notice to Improve would have any behavioural impact (because the parent has already received one for a similar offence).
If sufficient improvement is not made following the service of a Notice to Improve, a penalty notice may be issued either during or at the end of the designated time period.
Penalty Notices
From Autumn 2024 only 2 penalty notices can be issued to the same parent/guardian in respect of the same child within a 3 year rolling period and any second notice is charged at a higher rate.
● The first penalty notice issued to a parent in respect of a particular pupil will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.
● A second penalty notice will be charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days.
● A third penalty notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of issue of the first. In a case where the national threshold is met for a third time (or subsequent times) within those 3 years, alternative action should be taken instead. This will often include considering prosecution, but may include other tools such as one of the other attendance legal interventions.
If the penalty notice is not paid by the end of the 28 day period, the local authority will decide either to prosecute for the original offence to which the notice applies, or withdraw the notice. Parent(s) can only be prosecuted if 28 days have expired, and full payment has not been made. There is no right of appeal against a penalty notice.
DfE Blog for parents:
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/29/fines-for-parents-for-taking-children-out-of-school-what-you-need-to-know/