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At Hopescourt School, we expect parents and carers to:
- Make sure their child attends every day and is prepared for the school day;
- Leave a message on the absence line by 8am every day that their child is unwell and unable to attend school
- Provide the school with at least two emergency contact names and phone numbers for their child. This is in addition to parent/carer contact numbers;
- Notify the school immediately of any changes to contact details;
- Ensure that, where possible, appointments for their child are made outside of the school day;
- Proactively engage with any support offered to prevent the need for more formal support;
- Ensure that their child is ready for the agreed pick up time, if using Local Authority provided transport.
Punctuality to school is crucial and registration at the beginning of the day with a student’s tutor is an important time of the day. Lateness into school causes disruption to the individual’s learning and to that of the other students in the class. It is paramount therefore, that all students arrive at school on time. The school day starts at 9am but the school is open from 8.45am. Students who arrive after 9am will be recorded as late to school. Students arriving late must ensure they go straight to the school office to register. Students arriving late due to Local Authority provided transport, will not be penalised.
We will mark absence due to illness as authorised unless the school has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness. If the authenticity of the illness is in doubt, the school will ask the student’s parent/carer to provide medical evidence, such as a doctor’s note, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate form of evidence. We will not ask for medical evidence unnecessarily. If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and parents/carers will be notified of this in advance.
Planned absence due to appointments
Students are not allowed to leave with a parent/carer during the school day without prior permission from the Headteacher. Parents are requested to inform the school at least 24 hours in advance of an appointment that will require absence from school by sending an email to the main school office. Students must sign out at Reception on leaving the school and sign back in on their return. Where a student is being collected from the school, parents/carers are requested to report to Reception before the student is allowed to leave the site.
We encourage parents/carers to make medical and dental appointments out of school hours where possible. Where this is not possible, the student should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary. Attending a medical or dental appointment will be recorded as authorised, as long as the student’s parent/carer notifies the school in advance of the appointment and provides an appointment card or letter to support the absence, within 24 hours of the appointment taking place.
Parental requests for a leave of absence during term time
The Headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to a student during term time if they consider there to be ‘exceptional circumstances’. A leave of absence is granted at the Headteacher’s discretion, including the length of time the student is authorised to be absent for. Hopescourt considers each application for term-time absence individually, taking into account the specific facts, circumstances and relevant context behind the request. The Headteacher may require evidence to support any request for leave of absence.
Parents and carers who wish to take their child out of school during term time must put their request in writing to the Deputy Headteacher at least two weeks in advance of the date of the requested absence.
The school holiday and INSET dates are published at the earliest opportunity and we expect parents and carers to book their family holidays during the school holidays. As the Headteacher will only grant a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances it is unlikely a leave of absence will be granted for the purposes of a family holiday.
Where a leave of absence is taken which does not fall into the exceptional circumstances category, it will be recorded on a student’s attendance record as unauthorised absence.
Please see below the link to the Attendance Policy:
