Attendance at school is crucial to a child’s academic performance. At Holly Park attendance has been above national attendance for the last four years.
Attendance:
- Attendance from September 2023 to June 2024 was 95%
- Attendance from September 2022 to June 2023 was 95%
- Attendance from September 2021 to June 2022 was 94%
Here are some of the ways we improve attendance:
- Each week we award SAM (School Attendance Matters dog) and the attendance trophy for the class with the best attendance
- We hold attendance meetings every half term and inform parents whose children are below 95%
- We inform all parents at the mid-way point of the year what their child’s attendance is
- We buy into a Barnet Educational Welfare Officer every term and they make contact with any parent whose child has attendance below 90%
- We send postcards home to parents for 100% attendance at the end of the school year
Children should arrive in school at 8.55 am. If they are late they should sign in the Late File kept in the Office area.
Children arriving after the close of registration (after 9.30 am) without prior notification, will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.
Children who are persistently late may be referred to the Education Welfare Team.
The best way to avoid such action being taken is to get the children to school on time. Starting good habits from an early age is essential. If your child learns the importance of coming to school every day and being on time, then these good habits are likely to continue throughout their education and working life.
If your child is not in school, then they cannot learn.
If they miss school, they miss out.
Please help us to continue getting children here on time and prepared for the school day.
Give your child a head start by ensuring that they are in school every day and arrive on time.
The chart below shows how we judge attendance
| Excellent | 100% |
| Very Good | 97% |
| Good | 96% |
| Satisfactory | 95% |
| Unsatisfactory | 90% |
| Cause for Concern | Less than 90% |
Parents should be aware now that unauthorised lateness can lead to a fixed penalty notice from Barnet. Six unauthorised lates in a four week period can trigger the issue of a fixed penalty notice.
Here is the form that you must fill in to Request for an exceptional leave of absence.
Please see here for the link to our Attendance policy
Holidays
Government regulations mean that head teachers can only give leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and when applied for.
Clearly, family holidays are not exceptional and should be taken in the official school holidays. If you think your circumstances are exceptional, you will have to discuss this matter with a senior member of staff.
The DFE have made new rules about penalty fines for school absence. These come into force from August 2024.
It is the responsibility of the local authority to decide when to issue fines to parents.
First Offence
The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for term time leave or irregular attendance the amount will be:
£160 per parent per child if paid within 28 day. Reduced to £80 per parent per child if paid within 21days.
Second Offence (within 3 years)
The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for term time leave or irregular attendance the amount will be:
£160 per parent per child to be paid within 28 days. No reduced rate will be offered.
Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action like a parenting order or prosecution in a Magistrates Court will be considered.
Third Offence and any Further Offences (within 3 years)
The third time an offence is committed for term time leave or irregular attendance a penalty Notice will not be issued and the case will be presented straight to the magistrates Court. Magistrates fines can be up to £2,500 per parent per child. Cases found guilty in Magistrates Court can show on a parents future DBS certificate due to failure to safeguard a child’s education.
10 Sessions (5 days) of Unauthorised Absence in a 10-Week Period
Penalty Notice fines will be considered when there have been 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10 week period.
Money raised via fines goes to the local authority and not to the school.
Families are advised to consider very carefully their future holiday planning. Parents who take their children out of school without permission risk the intervention of the Education Welfare Officer, who will investigate all instances of unexplained absences.
Holly Park’s term dates can be found here.
If you wish to apply to take your child out of school in term time you must fill in a form for a Request for Exceptional Leave of Absence. Request for an exceptional leave of absence