We are looking forward to a positive year ahead of good attendance here at Abbey Mead.
Regular attendance at school supports children in both their learning and character development. Children must attend school each day to make the most of their educational experiences.
Sadly, holidays during term time continue to impact the learning and progress of a number of pupils. We ask that all absence is reported to the school office each morning so to ensure children are safe and their location is known. Where the school have concerns regarding a pupil’s absence, home visits are carried out to ensure that children are safe and present at the home address.
Holidays abroad
We remind parents that any holidays should be arranged and taken outside of school time. There are 13 weeks of holiday a year where parents can travel abroad. We must put our children’s education first!
With the introduction of the new National Framework for Penalty notices, the following changes have come into force for Penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence that occur after 19th August 2024.
- Any absence during term time is highly likely to receive a fixed penalty notice. The penalty notice will be issued at the cost of £160 per parent per child (discounted to £80 per parent per child if paid within 21 days for the first offence) or your case will be referred by the Local Authority directly to the Magistrates’ Court.
The second time a penalty notice is issued for term time leave or irregular attendance the amount will be £160 per parent, per child when paid within 28 days with no discount.
The third time an offence is committed for term time leave or irregular attendance a penalty notice will not be issued. The case will proceed to the Magistrates’ Court. Magistrate’s fines can be up to £2,500, per parent, per child.
- If your child has an absence of 20 days or more, the Local Authority has advised that a Penalty Notice is unlikely to be issued and the matter is likely to proceed to the Magistrates’ Court for prosecution action instead. The Local Authority has advised that where a parent is found guilty, or where the case is proven against the parent, that this is likely to result in a fine (up to £2500 per parent, per child) and the parent receiving a criminal record. This is because parents have a legal duty to ensure their child attends school where they are on roll regularly.
- Penalty notice fines will be issued for term time leave of 5 or more consecutive days and for fewer days where this has happened before.
Whilst we do not wish for any parent to be taken to court, we must ensure that our pupils attend school regularly so to gain the best quality education possible.
Learning Every Minute of Every Day