Attendance

Regular school attendance is very important so that your child can benefit from all of the academic, social and therapeutic opportunities on offer. In our experience, when a pupil is absent they can find it difficult to slip back into their routine and they will have missed vital learning opportunities, skills-based interventions, and therapy which will hinder their progress.

At The Loyne Specialist School, we aim for pupils to attend school on time, for 95% of the time. This equates to attending school for at least 182 days out of 190.

Nevertheless, we do understand that children may have absences from school due to illness, medical or other exceptional circumstances. Please see below.

What should I do when my child is poorly?

• Parents/carers must notify the school office on the first day of any unplanned absence between 8:00 and 9:00am, providing a reason for absence and an expected return date.
• Parents/carers will also need to inform the Transport Office on 01524 581260 to avoid the need for transport to go to the home.

Please note: Notifications of absence will NOT be accepted from drivers/passenger assistants or via class dojo.

What should I do when my child has an appointment during school time?

• Parents/carers must notify the school office in advance of any planned absence, including medical appointments, during school time.

Please note: Notifications of any appointments will NOT be accepted from drivers/passenger assistants and only via class dojo if prior to the day of the appointment.

What should I do if my child is going to be late for school?

• Parents/carers must notify the office if their child is going to be late for school and provide a reason.
• Registers are marked by 9:05am and if your child arrives after this time they will receive a late mark (L).
• At 9:30am the registers close and if your child arrives after this time, unless in exceptional circumstances, for example if recovering from a seizure, they will receive a (U) mark which is an unauthorised absence.

What will school do?

• If there is no contact from home by 9:00am following an absence, office staff will try to contact parents/carers, initially by text message.
• If there is no response to the text message, office staff will call as close to 10am as possible.
• If office staff are unable to make contact by 10:30, the designated safeguarding lead will be alerted and office staff will attempt to contact emergency contacts.
• If by 11:00am there has been no contact your child will be classed as a Child Missing in Education.

Leave in Term Time

• There is no automatic entitlement to leave, therefore parents/carers must seek permission from school before taking their child out of school.
• All applications for leave must be made in advance using the Request For Leave Of Absence Form.
• Any period of leave taken without the agreement of school will be unauthorised and may attract sanctions such as a Penalty Notice.

Persistent Absence

If your child misses 10% or more of their schooling they become a persistent absentee and will be monitored closely by the attendance panel in school. School may contact you directly if there are concerns. As a school, we are sensitive to the nature of our pupils SEND, especially those with medical conditions, and this is always considered when looking into the reasons for absences.