Attendance
As every parent is aware, children’s attendance at school is statutory and is closely tracked. The Admin and Leadership Teams monitor any patterns in absence/lateness and we will contact parents directly if we are at all concerned. Sometimes, it’s necessary to send home letters, invite families in for meetings or contact the Inclusion Officer at Surrey to escalate cases further.
If you need any support with attendance, however big or small, then please let us know. Our HSLW is available two days a week and has lots of advice and strategies.
Reporting Absence:
All absence must be reported daily. If your child is unwell, then we understand that this cannot be helped; however, you must contact the Admin Team with the full details, so that this can be logged and monitored:
Tel: 01784 432155 (leave a message on the absence line by 9am)
Email: absence@manorcroft.surrey.sch.uk
Persistent Absence:
If your child’s attendance falls below 90%, then this is considered ‘persistent absenteeism’. This level of absence is incredibly serious and is the equivalent of missing half a day of school a week. You will be contacted directly and required to attend an attendance meeting in school, where an action plan for improvement will be put in place. We have a duty of care to safeguard all children and all persistent absenteeism is reported to the Inclusion Officer at Surrey. They may in turn open an attendance referral case which could ultimately lead to court proceedings.
Leave of Absence:
Permission for absence during term time will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and authorisation cannot be given retrospectively. All requests need to be submitted using the form available below. Please note, family holidays are not deemed exceptional circumstances and therefore will not be authorised. If you take your child out of school without approval, you will be liable to receive a Penalty Notice for failing to ensure your child’s regular school attendance. The national threshold for the Local Authority to issue a penalty notice is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. Each school day has two sessions and a school week means any week in which there is at least one school session.
Penalty Notices:
- If a parent/carer has not incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children in a rolling 3 year period since 19th August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80.00 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against the parent/carer in the Magistrates Court.
- If a parent/carer has incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19th August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings in the Magistrates Court.
- If a parent/carer has incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then the parent/carer will NOT receive a third penalty notice - Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.