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Attendance

As a school we want all our children to achieve and key to this achievement is school attendance.  Every single day a child is absent from school equates to a day of lost learning, which is why your child’s attendance is important.

Please see the letters below which outline attendance levels and authorised/unauthorised leave during term time.

If you have any queries regarding your child’s attendance, please contact Ms Bairstow or Mrs George in the school office.

Student Absence

If your child is absent from school, please contact the school office or leave a message on the attendance line stating your name, your child’s name and form, and the reason for absence.  If you are unable to call please email office@oaklandsschool.org before 9.25am, or you may receive a text stating your child is not in school and this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.

Leave of Absence from School Request

Should you wish your child to have a leave of absence during term time you will need to complete a ‘request for leave of absence form’, which can be found below, and return to the attendance officer at least a week in advance of the start date requested.

As of August 2024, the law ceases to include a leave of absence for a family holiday.  Following the new school attendance statutory guidance that was implemented in September 2025, schools no longer have a code to record family holidays.

Leave of absence requests, including any holiday or leisure requests, are not authorised by the school unless it can be demonstrated that an absence during term time is a result of exceptional circumstances and only if requested in advance (at least a week) by the parent/carer the child normally lives with. Exceptional circumstances are extremely rare, unavoidable and short (e.g., bereavement, funerals abroad – examples provided from the Cheshire West and Chester Code of Conduct for Penalty Notices).

For holidays, the expectation is that these will take place in the 13 weeks of school holiday time within an academic year.

The following will not be considered exceptional circumstances for term-time leave, and therefore if a holiday is taken with these reasons then a fine will be issued:

• A child’s special educational needs require a holiday during term time because it is quieter with less people around
• A child’s attendance is above the school target of 96%
• Family holiday
• Availability of less expensive holiday
• Availability of holiday accommodation
• Parent/carer’s working commitments
• Holiday pre-booked by another family member