Giffard Park Primary School

Attendance

At Giffard Park Primary School we believe good attendance is not just a legal requirement but critical. It is by being present in school that children will have the best opportunity to access the full range and breadth of the curriculum and will allow them to achieve to their fullest potential. 

Illness

 We understand that children will get sick, please contact the school office when this happens to ensure that your child's absence is authorised where possible. You can do this through the Studybugs app, email or telephone. 

Term-Time Leave requests

DFE guidance states that head teachers should not grant leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please note that the updated attendance regulations have further limited what constitutes an exceptional circumstance. “Generally, the DfE does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance” (Working together to improve school attendance, applies from 19 August 2024). Where a leave of absence is granted, the head teacher will determine the number of days a pupil can be away from school. If the leave has not been applied for or not agreed then the absence will be unauthorised and this could lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice from the Local Authority. (The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations, 2013).

Please see below for useful information and fact sheets related to attendance.