Reporting Absence

School success starts with attendance.

Absence Procedure

If your child is unable to attend school the absence must be reported to school at the start of the students first session of the day i.e. 9.15am. 

Please report all absences via School Spider or by ringing the school office on 01274 770995. You will need to state the following;

• pupil's name
• your relationship with the pupil i.e. parent / carer etc.
• the reason for the absence.
• A phone number - A member of staff may call you back to discuss the absence.

Parent / Carers are required to call each day your child is absent.

Medical / Dental Appointments 

It is important all non-emergency appointments be arranged outside school hours. Where it is unavoidable to book a medical appointment outside of the school day, we ask that they are made late in the afternoon so that students can access as much of their learning as possible. Medical appointment letters must be provided to enable any absence to be authorised as ‘medical.’ 

Requests for absence in term-time

Permission from the Headteacher must be sought for all absences that occur during term-time. A ‘leave of absence form’ must be completed in advance of the absence taking place (these are available from the school office). Only the Headteacher can decide if the absence is to be authorised or unauthorised. Under current regulations, schools cannot authorise any holidays to be taken in term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. The school will require evidence of exceptional circumstances, which should be attached to the ‘request for leave of absence form’ and the judgement about what is exceptional will be made by the Headteacher. 

Religious observance days, including EID – we would appreciate it if you could inform us of which days you are taking for EID, completing a form would support us to update our registers accordingly. We can only authorise 3 days of absence, throughout the academic year, for Religious Observance. Any further absences will be unauthorised unless we are informed of another authorised reason.

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO BRADFORD COUNCIL’S UNAUTHORISED TERM TIME LEAVE ACTION: From September 2024, the fines for taking your child out of school will increase from £60 to £80 per child, per parent. Bradford Council may take you to court if your child’s attendance falls below 80% or you do not pay the penalty notice. If Bradford Council do take you to court, you could be fined up to £2500 per child, per parent, if found guilty, as well as receive a criminal record, which may be reportable to employers (for example, via a DBS Check).