Attendance and absence

ATTENDANCE / LATHAIREACHD

It would be appreciated if parents would ensure that children suffering from an infectious disease eg chickenpox, are kept at home. The onus is on parents to see that children attend school regularly as, obviously; poor attendance will have an adverse effect on performance. On the other hand children should not be sent to school if they are unwell and unfit for normal school work. A copy of our Health Newsletter is issued to all Primary 1 pupils at the start of the new session. It is imperative that we be informed of any absence as soon as possible. It is now a requirement to forward to the Scottish Office in Edinburgh, all details of attendance within the school and where there is no explanation for an absence; it must be processed as “unauthorised”. These figures for each school are published as statistics at the end of a session.

Scottish Executive’s Advice on School Attendance

Authorised Absence:

The category of authorised absence includes absence deriving from reasons such as:

Sickness

Medical and dental treatment

Bereavement

Short-term exceptional domestic circumstances

Religious observance

Meetings prior to and in court

Attendance at or in connection with a Children’s Hearing or Care Review

Weddings of immediate family

Agreed debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions not arranged by or in conjunction with the school.

Sanctioned extended absence in relation to children of travelling families.

Extended Leave with Parental Consent:

Where most family holidays will be recorded as unauthorised absence (see below), extended leave with parental consent should not be considered the same as a family holiday. Extended leave with parental consent should be recorded separately outside the figures for attendance and absence, and circumstances include such as:

Extended overseas educational trips not organised by the school

Short-term parental placement abroad

Family returning to its country of origin (to care for a relative, or for cultural reasons)

Leave in relation to the children of travelling families

Exceptional Domestic Circumstances

Absences related to short-term exceptional domestic circumstances can be classified as both authorised and unauthorised absence. Authorised absence under this heading covers situations such as:

The period immediately after an accident or illness

A period of serious or critical illness of a close relative

A domestic crisis which causes serious disruption to the family home, causing temporary relocation

Unauthorised Absence

The category of unauthorised absence includes absence deriving from reasons such as:

Unexplained absence

Truancy (unauthorised absence from school for any period as a result of premeditated or spontaneous action on the part of the pupil, parent or both)

Most family holidays during term time (see below)

Family Holidays during Term Time

The majority of family holidays taken during term time should be categorised as unauthorised absence. However, it is acceptable under exceptional circumstances for schools to authorise a family holiday during term time. Such circumstances may include:

A family holiday judged to be important to the wellbeing and cohesion of the family, following serious or terminal illness, bereavement or other traumatic events

A family holiday classified under the ‘authorised’ absence category should not include such reasons as:

The availability of cheap holidays

The availability of desired accommodation

Poor weather experienced during school holidays

Holidays which overlap the beginning or end of term

Parental difficulty obtaining leave (with local judgement applied in cases where evidence is provided by the employer that it cannot accommodate leave during school holidays without serious consequences)

Family holidays with the above and similar characteristics should be classified as unauthorised absence. In relation to previous circulars, a criterion of otherwise satisfactory or otherwise unsatisfactory attendance was attached to the differentiation of family holidays as authorised or unauthorised absence. While otherwise unsatisfactory attendance may well be one reason for a school to withhold agreement to absence for a family holiday, it may not be the only factor needing to be taken into account. The decision on recording absence as authorised and unauthorised should therefore be based simply on whether the school has given prior agreement to the absence or not, using the criteria outlined above. Where a school’s prior agreement has not been sought the absence should automatically be classed as unauthorised.