Attendance

We ask parents to contact the school on 01476 563180 by 08:45 on the first day of absence and indicate the likely date of the student’s return to school. Parents should contact the school on each subsequent day that the student is absent.  A message can be left before 08:30. 

In the event of a late arrival of a student that is known (dental appointment, medical appointment etc.) parents should send an email to admin@kings.lincs.sch.uk to inform the school.  The student should report to the School Office on arrival at the school. 

In the event of a late arrival of a student that is unforeseen, parents should make every attempt to contact the school by 08:45, but where this is not possible, an email should be sent to admin@kings.lincs.sch.uk, to explain the reason for the absence.  It is up to the school to decide whether it is an authorised absence.

We ask parents to notify the school in good time (usually not less than five working days) of any absence known in advance.  

Leave of Absence Notes

1. Permission will not be granted to take students out of school for a holiday during term time. 

2. If Authorised Absence is requested, full details must be submitted in writing in advance.  Parents must also state why they consider the leave of absence request to be an ‘exceptional circumstance’. 

3. If a child is kept away for longer that the period agreed, the additional time will normally be treated as Unauthorised.  Similarly, if a child is taken away without prior written permission, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. 

4. In some circumstances, if there is an extended absence without permission, the child may be taken off the school roll. 

These arrangements are made in accordance with the education (pupil registration) (England) regulations 2006; the education (pupil registration) (England) (amendment) regulations 2013 & school attendance policy. 

Clarification on Leave of Absence Forms for Students 

1. Following a change in statutory regulations effective from 1 September 2013, a request for leave of absence will only be granted for reasons of exceptional circumstances. 

2. Parents must clearly state why their request for leave of absence constitutes an ‘exceptional circumstance’.  The Local Authority’s Code of Conduct states: 

          “It is unlikely to amount to an exceptional circumstance if it is merely claimed that: 

• a holiday abroad can only be afforded in term time or 
• that a parent is unable to take leave during school holidays. (This is a matter between the parent and their employer).” 

3. Lessons are provided for boys on 190 days per year and that leaves 175 days per year for holidays, the dates of which are known well in advance. 

4. The school has an attendance target of 97%.  That figure is an average to include all necessary absences for sickness, medical appointments, funerals and so on, and all long-term illnesses of pupils. That means on average no more than 5 or 6 days off per child per year out of the 190, in other words one per term of the six-term–year. 
   These targets are set because credible research has suggested to Government that full attendance at school is the single most significant precondition for a child’s future success. 

The School is required to issue Penalty Notices for any unauthorised holidays where they meet the following threshold: 

“The threshold for prosecution is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. A session is a morning or afternoon registration session, meaning two sessions in an ordinary school day. 

The threshold ‘A school week’ means any week in which there is at least one school session. This can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. 4 sessions of holiday taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register closes all within 10 school weeks). These sessions can be consecutive (e.g. 10 sessions of holiday in one week) or not (e.g. 6 sessions of unauthorised absence taken in 1 week and 1 per week for the next 4 weeks). The period of 10 school weeks can also span different terms or school years (e.g. 2 sessions of unauthorised absence in the Summer Term and a further 8 within the Autumn Term).”