Raglan Infant School
Wellington Road, EN1 2NS
Tel: 020 8360 5121
Fax: 020 8360 2813
Raglan Infant School
Punctuality & Attendance
It is the legal duty of parents/guardians to ensure that children attend school, unless there is a good reason for absence, and that they are on time. We ask parents to inform us on the first day of a child’s absence and everyday thereafter if necessary.
The school has the legal duty to decide if an absence is authorised or not. Absences for illness and days of religious observance will be authorised, and we are allowed to also authorise absences in the special circumstances that may arise from time to time. The Local Authority and Department for Education impose strict guidelines governing authorised absence. The Governing Body of the school , following these guidelines, currently permit the head teacher to authorise up to 10 days absence in truly exceptional circumstances only (and only where a pupil’s rate of absence is above 95% in the current academic year and at least 95% in previous years).
The following absences for example would be recorded as unauthorised:
- Family holidays in term time (The school publishes term dates well in advance)
- Cheaper flights
- Weddings, family gatherings and so on
Each school has an Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) assigned to it. The EWO visits regularly to check the register for lateness and absence.
S/he is part of a support system provided by the Local Authority and has a dual role – ensuring children attend school regularly and on time, and advising parents on services that are available to them.
If children are consistently late or have significant amounts of absence, the EWO has to respond to this.
We hope you understand the importance of regular attendance and support the school in maintaining attendance figures that are in line with or above the National Average.
If you need to request an absence for your child, you must complete a form that can be obtained from the school office.