Attendance at Gledhow

At Gledhow, we strive for our pupils to have the best attendance possible and are proud to say that our overall attendance for the whole school at the end of last academic year (23-24) was 95%. This is well above the national average; however, this does fall short of our adventurous school target of 97%. This academic year (24-25), we endeavour to improve this even further so thank you in advance for ensuring your children are attending school and for your communication when they are not able to due to illness. 


Good attendance begins with our school being somewhere the children want to be and we strive for our Gledhow Curriculum and opportunities to be exciting. The foundation of securing good attendance is that school is a calm, safe, engaging and supportive environment where all pupils are keen and ready to learn! 



Parents have a legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means your child must attend every day that 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. 

New statutory information on penalty notices 24-25

The majority of our school’s unauthorised absences do occur when families take term-time holidays. There are new statutory and legal requirements for schools to follow from the DFE regarding penalty notices for unauthorised absences. These following changes are now in place and schools must follow from 19th August 2024 across the whole of England. 


Schools do not have a choice and must consider a penalty notice for unauthorised sessions within a rolling 10 school week period of time. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of any unauthorised absences and can span different terms and school years. Penalty Notices are issued per parent, per child (for example, if there are 3 children in a family, each parent may receive 3 separate penalty notices). It is important as parents you are aware of the new fines and the potential cost implications for your family. 

National Penalty Notice Framework (offences in a 3 year rolling period)

First Offence Second Offence Third Offence (or any further offences within 3 years)
The first penalty notice will be issued at £160 per parent if paid within 28 days (this be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days). The second penalty notice will be issued at £160 per parent if paid within 28 days (this will not be reduced). A penalty notice will not be issued and the case will be considered for potential legal action. This can result in a criminal record and fines of up to £1000 plus costs.

What’s the difference? authorised/unauthorised absence

Every school, by law, has to register pupils twice a day; first thing in the morning session at the start of the school day, and again in the afternoon session. If a pupils fails to attend or arrives late (30 minutes after their start time) then they can be marked as an absence for that session.


If a pupil of compulsory school age (5 years of age) is absent, the register must show whether the absence was authorised (acceptable) or unauthorised (where no acceptable reason is given for absence). Only the school can approve the reason for absence.

Punctuality

For children in Reception - Year 6 the school gates open at 8.30am/8:40am - depending on their staggered start time. 

24-25 staggered starts & finishes

Registers remain open for 30 minutes after your child's start time. If they are an 8:30am drop off ready for an 8:40am start, their register closes at 9:10am. If they are an 8:40am drop off ready for an 8:50am start, their register closes at 9:20am. If your child arrives after this time, they will be given a late code. Please do not drop off your children any earlier than the time that their gate opens.


Children who arrive a few minutes late can start the day feeling more stressed and do not make a positive start to their learning. They also often miss out on key messages and key recapping of learning in morning tasks. In EYFS & KS1, phonics is the first lesson of the day and, as reading is the key to the rest of the curriculum, this can severely impact their future education. 


Being late to school has a significant impact on the amount of learning time lost over a school year. This diagram gives you an indication of how much time is lost if regularly late…

How we can help you

  • Our attendance improvement officer (Sally Parrini) is available to discuss and support you and your child with any attendance and punctuality issues.
  • We also have a brilliant wider learning mentor team with a variety of skills who can also offer support. Louise Jeynes is also our Senior Attendance Champion in school. 
  • At every parent’s evening, class teachers give parents your child’s attendance registration certificate, so you are aware of their current attendance.
  • We will send you school reminders (in a letter) of your child’s attendance and punctuality if their attendance begins to drop below 90% before initiating a fast track process. 
  • We promote good attendance at school through medals, certificates and attendance initiatives. 
  • We have many staff who are First Aid trained. We have a special area where children can sit if they feel unwell. Staff will contact you if your child feels too ill to be in school. If you are in doubt, please send your child to school and we will contact you if necessary. 

Authorised Absence

If your child is genuinely unable to attend school due to sickness, please inform the school at 0113 293 0392 or use our online reporting form at the top of the page before the start of the day or visit the office. Only the Headteacher can authorise absences by law and may require additional evidence, especially if attendance is already below 95%. Medical appointments should be made outside of school hours. Half-day absence can be authorised for appointments, except in exceptional cases. Contact us if unsure about your child's ability to attend due to illness, as many conditions can be managed in school.

Unauthorised Absence

Parents/carers are legally responsible for ensuring their child regularly attends the school they are registered at. Failure to do so may result in legal action. Penalty Notices of £160 may be issued if your child is absent without authorisation, persistently arrives late, or fails to return after a leave of absence. Unauthorised absence includes holidays, shopping trips, feeling tired, bad weather, non-urgent appointments, and birthdays. The Headteacher only approves leave of absence for exceptional circumstances, not holidays. There are 38 weeks of school per year, leaving 14 weeks (175 days) for family visits, holidays, travel, and non-urgent medical appointments.

Sickness and Absence

Parents should inform the School Office if their child is sick and absent from school. For certain types of illness, the School Office will give advice, based on Public Health England guidance, in relation to when your child should return to school (see below).


For Child Absence Reporting please telephone 0113 293 0392 or use our online reporting form at the top of the page


If you would like to discuss your child’s attendance, or think we can support or help in any way, please call 0113 293 0392 or email office@gledhowschool.org

Fast Track

If your child’s attendance falls below 90% (without good reason) the school may initiate a Fast Track as a supportive measure. Absences will not be authorised during this time period without verification. You will be notified of a Fast Track via letter. Non improvement of attendance following a Fast Track may result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued by Leeds City Council.

Fixed Penalty Notices

Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act says that parents must ensure that their child attends school regularly & on time. If a parent fails to do this the school has the authority to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice. This is £80 and increases to £160 if not paid within 28 days. In more serious cases parents may face a fine of up to £2500 or a custodial sentence.