Attendance
Regular attendance is vital for your child’s success, helping them to achieve their best and develop important life skills.
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Regular attendance is vital for your child’s success, helping them to achieve their best and develop important life skills.
We believe that regular attendance is essential for students to achieve their best and benefit fully from their education. Attending school every day helps students build strong relationships, develop key life skills and prepare for future success.
Parents should contact the school as soon as possible on the first day of their child’s absence to explain why they were absent. A phone call will be made to the parent of any pupil who has not reported their child’s absence on the first day that they do not attend school.
If your child will be off today please ring the attendance officer on 01908 624720 option 1 or email attendance@liftsirherbertleon.org
For term time leave of absence, leave of absence request forms MUST be collected in paper form, from the reception and completed a minimum of 2 weeks prior to request date.
For a 'Leave of Absence' form click here
As far as possible, parents should attempt to book medical and dental appointments outside of school hours. Where this is not possible, a hospital letter or appointment card should be presented to the school office
Holidays/leave during term time
If you take a holiday which is not authorised by the school then they may refer the matter to the Local Authority who will consider the issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice. Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) are issued to each parent and are for each child.
If your child is unable to attend school, please notify the school as soon as possible: Contact us
Contact the school to report the absence and provide the reason and expected return date. If your child will be off today please ring the attendance officer on 01908 624720 option 1 or email attendance@liftsirherbertleon.org
Keep the school informed of your child’s progress and update the expected return date where possible. Absences can be reported by phone or via the school’s dedicated absence email: Contact us
If we haven’t heard from you by a set time (usually 10:30 am), a member of the school’s administration team will contact you to confirm the reason for absence.
Parents and carers are legally responsible for ensuring their child attends school regularly and punctually. Failure to do so could result in legal action by the local authority.
Under the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006, only the school can authorise an absence – not parents or carers.
Time off for holidays during term time is not a legal right. Any request for a leave of absence must be made in advance by completing an absence form and submitting it to the school office. If a holiday is taken without permission, the absence will be recorded as ‘unauthorised’ and could result in legal action.
You can read the government advice here:
https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence
Coding
In order to better understand your child's attendance certificate it is useful to have knowledge around the codes that are used nationally by all schools.
/ - Present
N - Reason not yet established, will be changed to an 'O' if no reason provided or the school is unsatisfied with the reason given
U - Late after registration closes, this counts as an absence
I - Ilness (Not medical or dental appointment) All authorised illness absence
M - Medical appointment (When unable to book them outside of school hours) Should only be used for
appointment and travel time, not the whole day. Other absence on the day should be unauthorised.
Lates
- Students who arrive after the bell at 8.40am will receive a 30 minute after school detention.
- Students arriving after the bell for period 1 at 9.05 will receive a 60 minute detention.
- Students arriving late to lessons throughout the day will receive a 30 minute detention.
‘10 in 10’ attendance legislation
This applies to students who have missed 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 full school days) within a 10-week period.
Regular attendance is vital to ensure that all students receive the best possible education. The Department for Education states that persistent absence - defined as attendance below 90% - has a significant impact on a child’s learning and future opportunities. As part of our commitment to high standards and student success, we will be closely monitoring attendance and taking appropriate action where necessary.
It is important to remember that if your child arrives after 09:10, they will receive a U code, which means they will be marked as absent for the entire morning session (0% attendance for the AM session).
If your child's attendance falls below 90%, medical evidence will be required for the school to authorise any further absences with an I code (illness). Without this, absences will be recorded as unauthorised.
If a student’s absences reach 10 sessions in 10 weeks, parents/carers will be notified, and further steps may be taken in line with national attendance policies. This may include meetings with the school, formal attendance procedures, and potential involvement from the Local Authority if attendance does not improve.
We understand that some absences are unavoidable, and we encourage parents/carers to communicate with the school regarding any attendance concerns. If you require support or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our attendance team.
Regular school attendance is essential because:
If you need to request a leave of absence during term time, you must complete a leave of absence form and return it to the school office. Please note that email requests cannot be accepted.
Lift Sir Herbert Leon
Fern Grove,
Bletchley,
Milton Keynes,
MK2 3HQ
