All absences from school must be explained by letter, telephone or personal contact on the first day, ideally before registration at 9.00 am.

Missed days at school are detrimental to your child’s education and also to the reputation of the school, so let’s work together to maintain an ‘Outstanding’ level of attendance for pupils at Sawley Infant school.

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amended) Regulations 2013 outlines amendments to the 2006 regulations for attendance.

Since September 2013 headteachers are no longer authorised to grant leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. Requests for absence must therefore be put in writing at least 10 days before the planned absence and authorisation will not be granted retrospectively.  Leave taken without authorisation must be recorded as ’unauthorised’ and parents may incur penalty fines.  

Absence codes are entered into the register to identify the reasons for absence, including late arrivals.

This is a legal requirement for all schools and is used to monitor attendance and absence. Repeated late arrival, unauthorised absence or low attendance rates may trigger a referral to the Educational Welfare Service in order to provide support and guidance as required.