Menu

Thomas Willingale School and Nursery

Attendance and Absence

Learning Hours

The school offers 6hrs 45mins learning per day which equates to 33hrs 45mins hours per week.

We also offer an extended day with Breakfast and HappyDayz After school club which is an additional 3hrs 30mins per day.

The attendance target for the school for this year (2024-2025) is 96%.
In the last academic year the school attendance was 94.6%.
 
REGULAR ATTENDANCE MAKES A DIFFERENCE!
 
 
We work with the Education Welfare Service who set our targets. An Education Welfare Officer meets with the School Attendance Officer (Mrs Carey) and the Headteacher regularly to monitor the attendance and punctuality of all children.
 
 
Absence due to Sickness
If your child is unwell, the school must be notified on the first day of illness. Please use the free Studybugs App to report your child's illness. On your child’s return, a note must be given to the class teacher outlining the reason for absence if Studybugs was not used.  Failure to provide a note within two weeks of the absence will result in the absence being marked as unauthorised.
 
If your child is absent for 5 or more days due to being unwell, the school will require medical evidence to support this, otherwise the absence will be marked as unauthorised.

 

Holidays during term time
 
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE SCHOOL’S TERM DATES WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON THE APP AND THE WEBSITE 
Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress.

There is no entitlement in law for pupils to take time off during the term to go on holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure or recreation, or to take part in protest activity in school hours.  In addition, the Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of regular school attendance is “in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school.” 

 

The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 set out the statutory requirements for schools.   All references to family holidays and extended leave have been removed. The amendments specify that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are "exceptional circumstances" and they do not have any discretion to authorise up to ten days of absence each academic year. 

 

It is a rule of this school that a leave of absence shall not be granted in term time unless there are reasons considered to be exceptional by the headteacher, irrespective of the child’s overall attendance.  Only the headteacher or his/her designate (not the local authority) may authorise such a request and all applications for a leave of absence must be made in writing, in advance, on the prescribed form provided by the school. The school will usually consider that the parent who has made the application is therefore allowing the leave of absence, and also that all parents who are on the holiday are allowing the leave. Where a parent removes a child after their application for leave was refused or where no application was made to the school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. It is likely that penalty notices will be requested, in line with the National Framework and Essex Code of Conduct, in respect of each parent believed to have allowed the absence. 

 
Please see our Attendance Policy for further information.

 

Top