Absence

There is a school expectation that every pupil attends school for 100% of the school year unless prevented due to medical issues. The Education Act 1996 requires parents or guardians to ensure their children receive a full-time education by regular attendance at a school or by other arrangements. Regular and punctual school attendance is of vital importance in ensuring that all students have full access to the curriculum. Valuable learning time is lost when children are absent or late.  Students should be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. 

Please remember that absence from school can seriously disrupt your child’s continuity of learning. Not only do they miss the teaching provided on the days they are away, they are also less prepared for lessons upon their return. There is a consequent risk of under-achievement, which together we must seek to avoid. Absence from school will only be authorised under exceptional circumstances. Term time holidays cannot be authorised.

Reporting Absence

The attendance officer at our school monitors pupil absence on a daily basis. A pupil’s parent/carer is expected to call the school in the morning if their child is going to be absent due to ill health.

Parents/Guardians can notify the school by:

1. Phone: 01452 770301

2. Email: attendance@thomaskeble.gloucs.sch.uk

3. "Report an Absence" on the School Gateway .

Parents must call on the morning of every subsequent day of illness If a pupil’s absence continues to rise after contacting their parent/carer, we will consider involving our student welfare officer.

Persistent Absence

The persistent absence threshold is 10%.

If a pupil's individual overall absence rate is greater than or equal to 10%, the pupil will be classified as a persistent absentee.

Pupil-level absence data will be collected each term and published at national and local authority level through the DfE's school absence national statistics releases. The underlying school-level absence data is published alongside the national statistics. The school will compare attendance data to the national average, and share this with the governing board.

Authorised Absence

Attending a medical or dental appointment will be counted as authorised as long as the pupil’s parent/carer notifies the school in advance of the appointment. Parents/carers must contact the school or provide a note to confirm any medical appointment. Pupils cannot be released from school until we have confirmation from a parent. Copies of original documents may be requested.

The headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to pupils during term time if they consider there to be 'exceptional circumstances'. A leave of absence is granted at the headteacher’s discretion. It is important to note that the fundamental principles for defining ‘exceptional’ are rare, significant, or unavoidable, which means that the event could not be reasonably scheduled at another time The school considers each application for term-time absence individually, considering the specific facts, circumstances and relevant context behind the request.

Parents wishing to apply for leave of absence need to either:

1. Download, complete and return to school the PDF request form below in advance.

2. Complete the e-form link below.