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
attendance@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. It is the responsibility of all parents and carers to ensure their child attends school every day except when their child is too ill to go to school, has a medical appointment or has been granted authorised leave by the school.
When a child is too ill to attend, parents and carers are expected to contact school using the dedicated student absence line on 01945 586314 before 8.15am on every morning of absence and explain the reason for non-attendance.
Parents are expected to provide a letter / medical evidence explaining the reasons for absence on the first day of their child's return to school. This should be emailed to attendance@marshlandhigh.co.uk
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.
Parents must NEVER plan and take family holidays or any other extended absence during term time.
Where there is a concern regarding a child’s attendance, parents are expected to engage positively with the school to address this issue. This may include support meetings and engaging with support offered / provided by the school and/or external agencies.
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
We are not able to authorise any pupil holidays within term time. If children are taken out of school parents may be issued with a fixed penalty notice. 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 - Sept 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:
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:
Marshland Attendance Update - Sept 2024
School Attendance Penalty Notice - Sept 2024
NCC Penalty Notice Regarding School Absence - Guidance for Parents
Our school Attendance Policy can be found here.