Attendance and Holidays
Attendance
The school pays very close attention to attendance.
In total 85% of a child’s life is spent at home. As teachers we have 15% of your child’s time for teaching and learning. If your child is not in school that is reduced even more. We have a zero tolerance approach to children missing school unnecessarily. If your child is not at school they’re simply not learning and that is not good enough.
Regular attendance and punctuality are very important if children are to achieve their educational potential. Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that this happens.
If your child is unable to come to school we must be informed by a responsible adult by 8.50am on the morning of the first day of absence. Acceptable reasons for absence are sickness, medical/dental treatment, bereavement, religious observance, exclusion and external exams. Such absences are considered ‘authorised’.
Leave of absence can only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Requests for all known absences must be made on the appropriate form, available from the school office or downloaded from this site.
‘Unauthorised’ absences are those for which permission is not granted or for which an explanation is not received (children are considered to have ‘truanted’).
Holidays and avoidable absences in term time letter
School Attendance – Penalty Notice letter
Download Penalty Notice letter here
Above 97% – Less than 12 sessions (6 days) absence a year
Excellent Attendance! These students will almost certainly get the best grades they can, leading to better prospects for the future.
95% – 20 sessions (10 days) absence a year
These pupils are likely to achieve good grades. Students who take a 2 week holiday every year can only achieve 95% attendance
90% – 38 sessions (19 days) absence a year
Students in this group are missing a month of school a year. It will be difficult for them to achieve their best
85% – 58 sessions (29 days) absence a year
The government classes students in this group as ‘Persistant Absentees’ and it will be almost impossible for them to keep up with work. Parents of students in this group could also face the possibility of legal action taken by the local authority.
Absences
If your child is absent from school due to illness, please ring the school office by 8.50am. If your child is absent due to a medical appointment or other circumstances, please contact the school via email at st.maurice.primary.school@plymouth.gov.uk.
We cannot authorise any absences for medical appointments without evidence. This can either be via a text, letter or email. All medical appointments are recorded as unauthorised until we receive this evidence.
Holidays
Please see form/guidance below about holidays in term time. Holidays will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.