Absence
If your child is going to be absent from school for an appointment, please let the school know, in advance if possible, and provide a copy of the appointment confirmation via parents@maharishischool.com.
Unfortunately, if we do not see this, it may be recorded as an unauthorised absence.
Illness
If your child is ill, please let the school know by 9am at the latest, you will need to inform the school in the morning of every day of their absence. To report an absence in the primary phase please call 01695 729912- Option 1 and for secondary phase absences -Option 2.
Please provide a reason for your child’s absence. Simply reporting that your child is ‘ill’ or ‘unwell’ does not provide enough information for the absence to be recorded as ‘authorised illness’.
It is a legal requirement of the Department for Education (DfE) that we record pupil absence accurately as attendance information is passed to the Department of Education.
Late arrivals
Children arriving late after 9:45 am (primary) and 9:30 am (secondary), without acceptable prior notice, will be marked absent for the whole morning session. If we have not heard from you about your child’s absence by 1.30pm it will be recorded as an Unauthorised Absence for the whole day.
If we do not hear from you that your child will be absent we will try to contact you before 10.00am. It may be that there are good reasons for why you have not notified the school of an absence however the school is legally required to contact you.
Please also note that if a pupil is absent and we have not been contacted with a reason by 10.00am, and the office has been unable to make contact by telephone and/or text, in the interests of safeguarding, a member of staff may visit parents and pupils at home. The school has a Family Support Worker (FSW) to assist those with lower attendance and higher lateness rates. Home visits will usually be made by the FSW or the Headteacher.
Leave during Term Time
PLEASE THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE TAKING YOUR CHILD OUT OF SCHOOL DURING TERM TIME
In law you must ask for permission for your children to miss school, well in advance of the planned absence. Parents can request a leave of absence but, by law, this can only be authorised if the circumstances are exceptional
Parents who take a child of compulsory school age out of school without permission from the school may be issued with a penalty notice
TO HELP YOUR CHILD DO WELL IN SCHOOL, YOU SHOULD:
Arrange family holidays/leave of absence to coincide with school holidays wherever possible.
Avoid times when there are important examinations or tests (check with school).
Always ask the school well in advance for permission.
Be aware of the potential impact on your child’s education.
Our school attendance policy can be found here.