Attendance and Punctuality: FAQs for Parents/Carers

Where can I find the Attendance Policy?

The attendance policy can be found here on our policies page.

Attendance

1. My child cannot attend school today, what should I do?

   You should ring the school as soon as possible on 0161 224 4625 to inform us of the absence and the reason why. We require this in writing either by replying to the absence text message we send or by emailing:

   attendance@levenshulmehigh.co.uk

2. My child has been off for more than 5 days with illness, what should I do?

   If your child is off for 5 or more days then medical evidence will be required to authorise the absence.

3. I have been told I need medical evidence but I cannot get a GP appointment, or I can only get a phone consultation, what should I do?

   Go to the pharmacy and ask for a consultation or advice and get a note stamped with the date and time, or a receipt of medication with the date on
   • Go to a walk-in centre
   • Ask the receptionist for a printout of your phone consultation / appointment

4. My child has sickness and diarrhoea, and I cannot take them to the GP, how can I provide medical evidence?

   You need to go to the pharmacy and pick up medication for the symptoms and provide a copy of the receipt to school.

5. My child needs medical advice but we cannot get to the GP, what should I do?

   Most pharmacies in England are now providing the Pharmacy First service which is a free NHS service that allows quick access to healthcare advice for a range of conditions. For more information visit our Think Pharmacy First page.

6. Can I take my child out of school for a medical appointment?

   All effort should be made to avoid non-urgent medical or routine dental appointments during the school day. Where this is not possible, students should attend school before and after the appointment. Failure to do so will result in unauthorised absence.

7. Do I have to provide evidence of a medical appointment?

   Yes, this can be in the form of the appointment letter, email or a prescription. Failure to do so could result in an unauthorised absence.

8. Can I take my child out of school for religious reasons?

   On some occasions, religious festivals may fall outside holiday periods or weekends. The authorisation of absence, or special leave for religious observance, will be considered in these instances, but families are requested to give advance notice if they intend for their child to be absent. If authorisation is permitted then one day will be designated for an individual occasion and no more than three in total in an academic year. Request forms will need to be collected from the Attendance office by your child.

9. What is an unauthorised absence?

   Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and may be subject to penalty notices or legal proceedings issued by the Local Authority.

10. What would class as an unauthorised absence?

    • Truancy during the academy day
    • Absences which have no proper explanation
    • Persistent absence due to illness that has no supporting medical evidence
    • Students who arrive late after the registers have closed
    • Absence for the purposes of shopping, to look after other children or celebrate birthdays
    • Families keeping children away from school unnecessarily
    • Excessive absence due to medical/dental appointments without good reason or evidence
    • Passport meetings/appointments
    • Optician appointments
    • Extended leave of absence which hasn’t been granted by the Headteacher(s) (extended leave of absence is only granted in exceptional circumstances)

11. Can I take my child out of school for extended leave of absence?

    Requests can be made to the Co-Headteachers for extended leave of absence, this should be done 4 weeks in advance of the proposed start date of the leave of absence via a ‘leave of absence request’ form which can be collected by your child from the attendance office.

12. Will taking my child out of school for extended leave of absence be authorised?

    Extended leave of absence taken during term time will not be authorised unless the school considers there to be exceptional circumstances supporting the application. We recognise that many of our students have strong links abroad – there are fourteen weeks holiday which we feel is ample time for family visits.

13. If my request is rejected but I still take my child out of school, what happens next?

    If the request is rejected and you still take your child out of school then this will result in a penalty notice being issued by the local council. If you exceed 20 school days then your child will be removed from the school roll.

14. I have received a letter warning that my child is going to be off rolled, what does this mean?

    If your child is absent for 21 consecutive school days then they will be off-rolled, this means they are no longer a member of Levenshulme High School and you will be required to reapply for a place at the school through the council.

15. I have been issued with a Penalty Notice from the council, do I need to pay?

    Yes, it is against the law not to pay the fine. The penalty is £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days. Penalty notice fines are issued by Manchester City Council in accordance with their Penalty Notice Protocol. Failure to pay the penalty in full by the end of the 28-day period may result in prosecution by the Local Authority for failure to ensure regular attendance, according to s444, Education Act 1996.

    If a second penalty notice is issued within a three year rolling period then a £160 will be payable with no option of a reduced payment. On third occasion you would be summoned to court which may result in a prosecution.

16. Is there any support to help in improving my child’s attendance?

    There are occasions where parent/carers will be invited into school to discuss their child’s attendance, here support measures will be put in place including parenting contracts which are formal agreements between parents and the school where targets are set. You will also be offered an Early Help Assessment.

17. What is an Early Help Assessment?

    An Early Help Assessment considers the needs of the family and potential barriers to your child’s attendance, it allows for intensive support to be provided either by the school, local authority, or another partner such as a health professional.

18. I want to speak to someone about attendance, who do I contact?

    You can either contact the attendance team (attendance@levenshulmehigh.co.uk) or alternatively contact Mr Millington, Assistant Headteacher and attendance champion (amillington@levenshulmehigh.co.uk).

19. I have notified the school of my child’s absence but I have still had a home visit, why is this?

    Regardless of reason for absence and whether contact has been made by parent/carers to explain the reason for absence, home visits will take place on day one of absence for vulnerable students, a non-vulnerable student by the third day of absence.

20. Why has school not informed me that you will be visiting?

    It is not possible to inform parents beforehand due to logistics of the school day and staff availability. However, as above, you can expect the visit to take place by day one for a vulnerable student or day three for a non-vulnerable.

Punctuality

1. This is the first time my child is late, will they get in trouble?

   We absolutely appreciate that there will be unavoidable occasions where children will be late to school. Detentions will only be given if your child has been late more than 3 times in a term.

2. What happens if my child is late more than three times in term?

   If your child receives more than three late marks in a term then they will then receive a detention after school on a Friday for each late mark thereafter. For example, if they were to be late on the first 3 days of term then they would receive a detention for each late mark for the rest of the term.

3. What if my child has been late more than once a week?

   If they have been late more than 3 times in a term and then receive more than one late mark in a week then the length of the detention after school on a Friday will increased by 15 minutes. This is explained below:

   • One late in the week – 15 minute detention after school on Friday
   • Two lates in the week – 30 minute detention after school on Friday
   • Three lates in the week – 45 minute detention after school on Friday
   • Four lates in the week – 60 minute detention after school on Friday
   • Five lates in the week – 75 minute detention after school on Friday

4. My child was only a couple of minutes late. It seems harsh that they should get a late mark?

   Good timekeeping is an important life skill that we want our students to develop so any lateness to school (or work) will be marked as such. We would encourage students to set off in good time so that any small delay does not cause them to be late. However, we take into account occasional lateness but if this is happening more than 3 times in a term this is has become problematic and needs to be addressed.

5. Our whole family overslept, and it is not my child’s fault that they are late. Will they receive a late mark?

   This cannot be taken as an acceptable reason for lateness so a late mark or unauthorised absence would be recorded, depending on the time they arrive. However, we take into account occasional lateness but if this is happening more than 3 times in a term this is has become problematic and needs to be addressed.

6. My child relies on public transport to get to school which is sometimes late. Will they receive a late mark?

   Yes. We would advise that the child leaves earlier so that even if the bus is late, they will still arrive on time. If the bus is sometimes late, then it is not a reliable way to ensure arrival in good time. However, we take into account occasional lateness but if this is happening more than 3 times in a term this is has become problematic and needs to be addressed.

7. What if I phone up/email to say my child is going to be late? Would they still get a late mark?

   Yes, they would still be marked late.

8. Why has my child been marked as absent for the whole morning when they arrived at 9am?

   DfE (Department for Education) guidelines state that the register must be closed after a reasonable time in the morning. If arriving after 9am, your child will be marked as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.