At Horton Grange Primary School, we expect children to attend school every day that they are able to. We expect all pupils to strive to achieve at least 96% attendance in every school year. The school adopts a number of procedures to remind parents/carers if their child’s attendance falls below 96% in order to provide timely support prior to their absence becoming persistent (below 90%).

School Attendance and the Law

Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.

(DFE Working together to improve school attendance, August 2024)

Parents who fail to ensure their children attend school regularly and on time without good reason could:-

● Receive a Penalty Notice Fine of £80 per parent per child which could increase to £160 if not paid within 21 days (First penalty notice only)

● Be prosecuted in the magistrate’s court and be fined up to £2,500 or face 3 months imprisonment

The Headteacher and senior leadership team are responsible for monitoring absence and punctuality, supported by the Attendance Officer.