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Marshland High School

Attendance and Absence Reporting

Absence Reporting

To report a student absent please contact the school on either of the following:

Attendance Officer:
Sandy Byrne


Absence Line:
01945 586314

s.byrne@marshlandhigh.co.uk

Absence Reporting

Attendance is of the utmost importance at Marshland High School, and we expect your child to attend school every day unless they are unwell. If this is the case parents and carers are expected to contact their Pastoral Manager or Attendance Officer before school starts on each morning of absence.

The Marshland School Day consists of two sessions – morning and afternoon. To report your child absent from school, please call the school on the morning of each day of absence to explain the reason for non-attendance.

If your child has an appointment during the school day, please ensure you inform the school and provide evidence of the appointment to allow us to record their absence correctly.

Attendance 

Is my child too ill to come to school?

It can be tricky deciding whether to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they're unwell. The NHS have drawn up a guide to help - to view click here: Is my child too ill for school? - NHS

Acceptable levels of attendance

Everyday Counts!

For some people, 90% may seem like an acceptable level of attendance. The reality is that 90% attendance means that the child or young person has missed half a school day each week or 19 days of school during the school year –that’s nearly 4 whole school weeks.

 

Research commissioned by the Department for Education shows missing school for even a day can mean a child is less likely to achieve good grades, which can have a damaging effect on their life chances. At Marshland High School our aim is to work with parents to ensure that all our pupils receive the most from their education and reach their full potential with 100% attendance.

Parents and carers are required by law to ensure that their child attends school regularly. The Government remains very clear that no child should miss school apart from in exceptional circumstances and schools must continue to take steps to reduce absence to support children’s attainment.

Leave Of Absence In Term Time

The Local Authority operates a system where any pupil meeting the criteria for legal intervention listed below will be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice:

  • 9 consecutive sessions of unauthorised absence where some or all of the absence may be attributed to an unauthorised holiday in term-time.

Any pupil at Marshland High School who meets either of the criteria, will be referred to the Local Authority for action to be considered.

If a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued the fine is £60 per parent per child which must be paid in one payment within 21 days.  If a Notice is unpaid within 21 days, the fine will double to £120 per parent per child if paid within 28 days. If a fixed penalty notice fine is not paid in full within the timescale set out above, the Local Authority is required to start legal proceedings against parents in the local Magistrates Court for the offence of failing to ensure their child has attended school regularly.
The letter below gives further details regarding attendance at school and the issuing of penalty notices:

Attendance at School and Legal Intervention - Letter to Parents - Jan 2024

If, due to exceptional circumstances, you need to remove your child from school during term time you are requested to complete a Leave of Absence Form and return it to Reception or the Admin Office for approval at least three weeks before the proposed leave date. Before completing this application we would advise that you consider very seriously how the absences will affect your child’s education.  Further details can be found on the form by clicking the link below:

Leave of Absence Form

Guidance For Parents

Further information on how we can continually improve our attendance and ways in which we can engage with each other to help progress learning both academically and socially can be found by clicking the links below:

Fixed Penalty Notices - Information for Parents

Our school Attendance Policy can be found here.