Attendance

Attendance

It is important that children come to school every day so that they do not miss any learning opportunities throughout the year.  However, we appreciate that sometimes children do become poorly and are unable to attend.  If this is the case, would you please contact school no later than 9 am by telephoning the School Office on 01626852314, via MyEd or the school admin email; - admin@chudleigh-knighton.devon.sch.uk on the first morning of absence and on subsequent days.  Please do not leave a vague message please give as much detail as possible i.e. stomach bug, temperature, severe cold or specific details if known eg. Chicken Pox.

We have a 48 hour rule for any sickness/diarrhea to try to prevent any outbreaks.  Please ensure that if your child has suffered with either of these, they remain absent from school for symptoms clear 48 hour period from the last time of the attack.

Registration

The School Office checks all class registers every morning between 09.00am and 09.15am to identify pupils that may be absent.  Where a child is absent from school and we have not received any verbal or written communication from the parent or carer we will commence the 'first day contact procedures' telephoning, in turn, each of the contacts on the list provided by parents/carers.  If we are still unable to get confirmation as to why the child is not in school we will progress to a 'welfare check' (a visit to the home address), this is undertaken by a senior member of staff at Chudleigh Knighton or the Education Welfare Officer (EWO), if we are still unable to confirm the child's welfare we will call 101 to report the child as missing.  This is the school's duty of care and safeguarding for your child.

The school gates and doors open at 08.40am and close at 08.50am.  If your child arrives between the start and closure of registration, they will be coded as late (L); if they arrive after registration has closed, they will be coded as arriving 'after registration has closed' coded as U which is an unauthorised absence.

Absence Due to Sickness

Please report all sickness to the School Office (as requested in the introduction); please do not contact the class teacher or send a message via a sibling.

Please try to make any medical appointments out of school hours, children having to leave class halfway through a lesson not only disrupts their learning but also affects other children in class.  If you have to make a medical appointment during school hours please provide evidence to the School Office; thank you.

Should your child reach 10 sessions of unauthorised absence we will arrange a meeting with yourselves and the Education Welfare Officer which may then proceed to a legal meeting.

During the Covid-19 Pandemic

If your child has symptoms, or someone in your household does, parents/carers must refer to the latest guidance. NHS website If you are unsure please contact the school office and we will support you.

Holiday Requests During Term Time

Schools are only allowed, by law, to authorise non-medical absences if requested in advance by the parent/carer with whom the child normally resides.  If your child needs to be away school can only authorise such a request if they are satisfied that there are 'Exceptional Circumstances' which apply.  However, even if there are exceptional circumstances, school can still consider any other relevant factors such as previous attendance rates, the ability of the pupil to catch-up on missed work and the wider impact of missing the specific period of time.

Devon County Council advises schools not to authorise such requests if the pupil's education is likely to be significantly impacted upon.

If the request is unauthorised by the school, a penalty notice may be issued by Devon County Council.  a penalty notice offers a parent the opportunity of dealing with a potential offence without going to court, by paying a penalty.  If parents can't afford to pay, or for any other reason do not take the offer of paying the notice within a set time, then the case will proceed to a Magistrates Court.  The provision of penalty notices is set Regulations and the amount of the penalty, time frame for payment or payment method are not able to be varied by Devon County Council.

Parents/Carers should note that only one notice per parent per child will normally be issued with a two year period.  Any 'second offence' within a two year period will be referred straight to court.