Attendance
If your child is not in school, there must be a justifiable reason and you should contact the school in one of the following ways by 8.30am on each day of absence:
- by phone 01525 372266 – choose option 1 to record your child’s absence
- by email attendance@gilbertinglefield.com
When your child returns to school, we only require a letter if you have not notified us by phone or email of your child’s absence. Any letter explaining your child’s absence should be addressed to the attendance officer. If your child is in Year 5 or 6, you should not write such a letter in your child’s student planner, as the attendance officer does not have access to this and we are required to file and archive such a document separately.
Your child is required by law to attend school every day. Occasional days’ absence, for whatever reason, seriously affect your child’s education.
Legislation that came into force on 1st September 2013 prevents the headteacher from authorising holidays in term time unless exceptional extenuating circumstances exist. Requests for leave for any reason must be made using the school form (available from the school office) and must be received at least four weeks before the date for which leave is requested. The completed form must detail the exact dates and the reason for requesting the leave. In considering such a request the school will take into account the time of year, how long the leave will be, how much it will disrupt a pupil’s education, and the attendance record of the pupil. Monetary considerations such as the cheaper cost of holidays in term time are not considered acceptable grounds for granting leave of absence.
No leave will be authorised for Year 5 pupils in their first term. No leave will be authorised for any year group between February half term and the end of June due to tests.
