The Department for Education (DfE) has produced statutory guidance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools, and local authorities. It is called “Working together to improve school attendance” and it includes a National Framework in relation to absence and the use of legal sanctions. Our School Attendance Policy reflects the requirements and principles of that guidance.

New legislation was passed, The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 which introduced a National Framework in England. By law all children of compulsory school age must receive an appropriate full-time education (Education Act 1996). Parent/Carers have a legal duty to ensure their child attends school regularly at the school at which they are registered.

Parent/Carers may be recognised differently under education law, than under family law. Section 576 of the Education Act 1996 states that a ‘parent’, in relation to a child or young person, includes any person who is not a parent (from which can be inferred ‘biological parent’) but who has parental responsibility, or who has care of the child.

A person typically has care of a child or young person if they are the person with whom the child lives, either full or part-time, and who looks after the child, irrespective of what their biological or legal relationship is with the child.

We monitor and review all pupils’ absence, and the reasons that are given, thoroughly.

If a child is absent from school, a parent must follow these procedures:

1. Contact the school on the first day of absence before 8:55am when our registers close via:
   1. Telephone – 01992 624487. (The school has an answer phone available 24/7 to leave a message, or you may call into school personally and speak to the office staff.
   2. Email – admin@brooklandjm.herts.sch.uk

2. Contact the school on every further day of absence, again before 8:55am or as advised during your initial contact.
3. Ensure that your child returns to school as soon as possible and you provide any medical evidence, if requested, to support the absence. Medical evidence may be requested (where school have reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of the absences) where your child is having multiple periods of absence which are reported as being due to medical reasons. When determining whether a child is too ill to attend school, both parents and school staff can consider the advice contained within the NHS Guidance on School Absence and Childhood Illness see Annex C.

If your child is absent, we will:

1. Telephone and/or email you on the first, and every subsequent day of absence, if we have not heard from you. However, it is your responsibility to contact us.

2. If we are unable to make contact with parents by telephone, we will telephone emergency contact numbers, send emails home and a home visit may be made, in the interests of safeguarding.

3. The Local Authority will be informed if no contact has been made with parent/carers by the 10^th day of absence (or sooner if deemed appropriate) as The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 Section 13 requires schools to inform the local authority of any pupils absent from school and where absences amount to more than 10 or more days, either consecutively or irregularly and have been unauthorised. This means school will have unauthorised 20 am/pm sessions of absences. Schools are also under a safeguarding duty, under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 to investigate any unexplained / unauthorised absences.

At this point, your child will be considered to be “absent from education”.