Attendance

At Penbridge Schools, we believe that every child deserves to feel seen, supported, and part of a caring community. Regular attendance is a vital part of that experience. When students are in school consistently, they build stronger friendships, engage more deeply in learning, and develop a sense of belonging that boosts their overall well-being.

We understand that life can sometimes present challenges, and we’re here to work with you to make sure your child feels happy and confident coming to school each day. Together, we can create an environment where every child thrives—academically, socially, and emotionally.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us make every school day count.

We respectfully ask parent/s and carers to:

 • Provide up to date contact numbers and changes of address. Please make sure that the contact details you have given to the school are kept up to date, so that in the event of an accident, emergency or any other need to contact you we have the correct details.

 • Provide details of at least two contacts for emergency use. 

• Notify the School when their child is unable to attend, with a reason, on the first day of the absence. 

• Telephone the School after the first day of absence to advise the school if the absence is continuing.

 • Keep the School well informed, in cases of lengthy absence. Parents/carers will be encouraged to keep absences to a minimum. A note or explanation from a child’s home does not mean an absence becomes authorised. The decision whether to authorise an absence or not, will always rest with the Head Teacher.

 • Provide medical evidence indicating attendance at the dentist, doctor or optician before the arranged appointment unless an emergency situation has arisen. Whenever possible all appointments should be made outside of school hours.

 • Ensure that their child arrives at school on time each day. 

• Let the School know if their child is going to be late, e.g. if a car breaks down; if an urgent appointment has been made. 

• Understand the importance of good attendance and punctuality and promote this with their child, aiming for 100% attendance each year. 

• Work Together with the school where there are concerns regarding the regular attendance at school or punctuality to school this will include attending scheduled meetings which can be re arranged with prior notice in consultation with the school, in a timely manner so as not to incur further unnecessary absence from school. 

• Provide written explanations of any absence and medical evidence for whole day appointments as well as medial evidence for persistent absence from school due to alleged illness. 

• Not to arrange term time holidays and only request leave of absence if it is for an exceptional circumstance using the schools’ form. For Students to achieve their full potential they should: 

• Attend every day unless they are medically unfit to attend school or have an authorised absence.

 • Arrive in school on time.

 • Go to all their registrations and lessons on time.

Absence Procedures

First Day Absence Contact Can we respectfully ask that Parents notify the school, by 8am that morning, if their child is unable to attend for any unavoidable reason, such as illness. If the school does not receive notification, it will text/telephone on the first day of absence, to try to ascertain the reason.

 First day contact will be carried out as early as possible in the school day, in order to notify parents whose children may have set off for school, but not arrived, as quickly as possible. If the child is still too unwell to attend the following day, parents will need to telephone the school again before 8 am on the following and any further subsequent days of absence.

 To safeguard the pupil, we cannot assume that they are still unwell so please do continue to inform us so we know why they have not arrived at school. If a child is absent for longer than 3 days due to ill health, medical evidence may need to be provided in order that the school can authorise the absence. On return to school, we ask that parents put in writing the reason for absence in addition to the communication with school already had on the days of absence. Continuing Absence Procedures Children being absent from education for prolonged periods and/or on repeat occasions can act as a vital warning sign to a range of safeguarding issues including neglect, child sexual and child criminal exploitation - particularly county lines. It is therefore important that the school responds to persistently absent pupils and children missing education as it supports identifying such abuse, and in the case of absent pupils, helps prevent the risk of them becoming a child missing education in the future.

If after 3 days of absence, your child has not been seen and contact has not been made with the school, we will make all reasonable enquiries to establish contact with parents/carers and the child, including making enquiries to known friends and wider family. In the event of an absence of three or more days without contact from the family, a home visit will be made, either by Mrs Carpenter or other local authority professional, to ascertain the safety and well-being of the child and in addition to the reason for absence from school. 

This is part of our duty and commitment to safeguarding the wellbeing of our pupils. https://www.penbridgeschool.org.uk/policies/ Ten days’ absence We have a legal duty to report the absence of any pupil who is absent without explanation for 10 consecutive days to the LA. If the child is not seen and contact has not been established with the named parent/carer then the local authority is notified that the child is at risk of missing education (CME). The Local Authority School Attendance Team will visit the last known address and alert key services to locate the child. Penbridge Schools will also inform the TSAT Regional Safeguarding Lead.

For more useful links, please see the section below. These include our school policies, wellbeing resources, class timetables, Government guidance and NHS information. We encourage you to make use of these links to stay informed and support your child’s learning and wellbeing.