At St Andrew's, we expect children to attend school every day, as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so. We feel that the most important way to promote good attendance is to ensure that both pupils and parents have a positive relationship with school.Holidays in term time are not a 'right'. It would be better for your child's education if holidays were taken during normal holiday periods.
Parents are advised to discuss any potential absence with the Headteacher prior to committing to a holiday. All requests for holidays in term time must be made by parents* giving at the very least 3 weeks notice. Forms are available from the School Office or can be downloaded and will be granted at the Headteacher's discretion dependant on the circumstances. *The expression “parent” in relation to a child or young person includes any person who is not a parent of the child but who has parental responsibility for him/her or who has care of the child.
Download our Holiday Request Form Download our Attendance Policy
Fixed Penalties
Please note that we reserve the right to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to parents of children who have unauthorised absences. From September 2013, the threshold for applying for penalty notices changed. Penalty Notices can now be applied for when a pupil has 5 days (10 sessions) of unauthorised absence in a term or 10 days (20 sessions) in two consecutive terms for reasons such as:
- holidays in term time;
- holidays in term time without school permission, or excessive delayed return from an extended holiday without prior school permission;
- persistent absence where parents have been given the opportunity to improve a child's attendance but failed to do so.
Fines are issued by the local authority and currently equates to £160 per parent, per child. There may be very exceptional circumstances where an absence may be authorised and each of these requests will be judged on an individual basis by the Headteacher.
Changes to Education-related Penalty Notices from Aug 2024
Attendance at our School
Attendance at St Andrew's is currently very good.
2021/22 - 95.5%