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Attendance

The attendance target at Helpringham Primary School is 97%.

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 have removed the reference to holidays during term time and now provides that a leave of absence during term time will only be granted where an application is made in advance to the school and the school consider that the leave of absence should be granted due to exceptional circumstances relating to that application.

What amounts to “exceptional circumstances” is a matter for the discretion of the Headteacher and should be judged on a case by case basis, but it is unlikely to amount to an exceptional circumstance if it is merely claimed that a holiday abroad can only be afforded in term time or that a parent is unable to take leave during school holidays.

If your leave of absence has not been authorised by the School, you may be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice by the Local Authority. This could result in a fine of up to £120 per parent per child.

Parents have a responsibility for ensuring their child attends the School regularly and punctually. The School expects that all parents communicate with them, either in writing or by telephone, giving a reason:

  1. In advance of any planned absence.
  2. Immediately following any unplanned absence.
  3. During any absence expected to last more than three days

It is easy to inform the office of an absence!

You can either visit the office directly or:

Telephone: 01529 421676

Email: enquiries@helpringham.lincs.sch.uk

Scholar Pack Parent App: Send a message via the app

Please include your child’s name, class and reason for absence in your message.

Failure to comply with this requirement will mean that your child will have unauthorised absences on their attendance record and this could lead to a referral to the Education Welfare Service.

Parents should contact us, in confidence, whenever a problem occurs that may affect their child’s attendance. Regular attendance means arriving on time for the start of the School day. It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure their child gets to school on time.

Parents of pupils who are regularly late will be contacted, so we can work together to rectify the situation. Where no improvement is made, the Education Welfare Service will be informed.