Page 11 - Information for Parents
P. 11

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 Education Investigation Service – this may result in you being issued
with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Absenteeism 2021/2022

Percent of sessions missed to overall absence: 4.48%

Percent of sessions missed that were unauthorised absence: 1.54%

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 2022-2023  Updated 13.01.2023  10
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