Page 11 - Information for Parents

Leave of Absence

Any request for ‘leave’ e.g. holiday absence, must be made in writing using the
school leave of absence forms. These must be received by the Headteacher no
later than 20 working days before the proposed leave is due to take place. Each
request must meet specific ‘exceptional circumstances’ which would not be
expected to be repeated within an academic year, or to occur regularly
throughout a child’s school life. Reasons such as, ‘its cheaper’, or ‘fits in with
work patterns’ or ‘split families’ are not classed as exceptional circumstances.
Holidays are not considered to be exceptional circumstances. The
Headteacher will consider each request on an individual basis. Leave taken
without a formal request being made to the Headteacher will remain unauthorised
even if the parent enters a request on returning from the holiday/leave. Please be
aware that a holiday in term time will be recorded on school registers as
unauthorised absence and will be referred to the School Attendance &
Education Support Service (SA & ESS) this may result in you being issued with
a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Absenteeism 2024/25

Percent of sessions missed to overall absence: 2.47%

Percent of sessions missed that were unauthorised absence: 1.44%

Lateness

The school day begins at 8:45 am and the afternoon session begins at 1:00pm.
Arrival after this time will constitute a late code.
A child who appears after this time, will be marked late for a further 10 mins using
the late code.
After this time, e.g. 9:05am for the morning session, a child appearing will be
coded as ‘unauthorised late’.
A child who is persistently late even within the first 5 mins of the session starting
may lose their right to be coded as late and will instead be marked as
‘unauthorised’ late’. The Headteacher will notify the parent of this decision.

Blanford Mere Primary School – Prospectus 2025-2026 Updated 08.09.2025 10