{"id":839,"date":"2016-01-07T20:49:22","date_gmt":"2016-01-07T20:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/nl\/holycrossblog\/?page_id=839"},"modified":"2016-02-09T15:24:39","modified_gmt":"2016-02-09T15:24:39","slug":"attendance-at-school","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/nl\/holycrossblog\/attendance-at-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Attendance at School"},"content":{"rendered":"

Section 30 of the 1980 Education Act lays a duty on every parent of a child of \u2018school age\u2019 to ensure that their child attends school regularly.\u00a0 Attendance must be recorded twice a day, morning and afternoon.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Regulation 7 of the Education (School and Placing Information) (Scotland) Amendment, Etc. Regulations 1993 requires each child\u2019s absence from school to be recorded in the school register as authorized or unauthorised, as defined by the Scottish Government.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Parents should inform the school if their child is likely to be absent for some time, and provide a note on his\/her return to school, with a reason for absence.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

At the start of each school session, parents will be asked to provide contact details including at least one emergency contact number, including, where possible, a number that will accept a text message.\u00a0 Parents are required to inform the school if these contact details change during the course of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parents and carers are asked to inform the school if a pupil is unable to attend from the start of the school day on the first day of absence.\u00a0 Failure to do so will result in school staff accessing all contact numbers provided for the child and may result in the school sending a text message.\u00a0 In terms of child safety, police will be contacted if all attempts to locate the child have been exhausted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parents are also asked to inform the school by letter or telephone if their child is likely to be absent for some time, and to give the child a note on his\/her return to school confirming the reason for absence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parents of children attending the Nursery Class are also asked to inform the nursery on the first day of absence and to maintain contact with the nursery should the absence continue beyond two days.\u00a0 If the Nursery staff do not receive information, parents will be contacted to ascertain how long the absence is to be expected and to agree a return date for the child,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FAMILY HOLIDAYS DURING TERM TIME<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Every effort should be made to avoid family holidays during term time as this both disrupts the child\u2019s education and reduces learning time.\u00a0 Parents\/guardians should inform the school by letter of the dates before going on holiday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Absences will be classified as authorised only in exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances may include:<\/span><\/p>\n

A family holiday judged to be important to the wellbeing and cohesion of the family, following serious or terminal illness, bereavement or other traumatic events.<\/span><\/p>\n

A family holiday classified under the \u2018authorised absence\u2019 category will not include such reasons as:<\/span><\/p>\n