Section 30 of the 1980 Education Act lays a duty on every parent/carer of a child or young person of “school age” to ensure that their child attends school regularly. Attendance must be recorded twice a day, morning and afternoon.
Regulation 7 of the Education (School and Placing Information) (Scotland) Amendment etc Regulations 1993 requires each child’s absence from school to be recorded in the school register as authorised: e.g. approved by the authority, or unauthorised: e.g. unexplained by the parent/carer (truancy) or excluded from school.
Parents/carers do not have an automatic right to take their child out of school without permission during term-time. The Head of Establishment can only authorise time off during term-time in exceptional circumstances. Good attendance & time keeping impacts positively on pupil attainment & achievement. Poor attendance & late coming has a detrimental effect on pupils learning.
Exceptional circumstances include:
· Short-term parental/carer placement abroad
· Family returning to its country of origin for family reasons
· The period immediately after an illness or accident
· A period of serious or critical illness of a close relative
· A domestic crisis which causes serious disruption to the family home, causing temporary relocation.
Time off during term-time for the following reasons is not acceptable and will be recorded as unauthorised absence:
· Availability of cheap holidays or desired accommodation
· Holidays which overlap the beginning or end of term
Clearly with no explanation from the parent or carer the absence is unauthorised.
Within Glasgow Primary School good attendance is encouraged at all times and children rewarded accordingly. Parents are asked to advise if their son or daughter is going to be absent. This should be done as early as possible on the first day of absence. If the young person is going to be absent for some time, it would be helpful to know at the earliest opportunity. The school uses daily text messaging to inform parents and carers of absence if no contact is made. All unexplained absence is investigated by the school and appropriate action taken. All calls must be made to the Pupil Absence Reporting Line on 0141 287 0039. The line is open between 08.00-15.30 Monday to Friday. Alternatively you can use the online form on the Glasgow City Council website: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=18832
DENTAL/HOSPITAL APPOINTMENTS
If your child has an unavoidable appointment, please give them a letter for their class teacher and then collect them from the school office at the specified time.