Attendance

Section 30 of the 1980 Education Act lays a duty on every parent of children of ‘school age’ to ensure that their children attend school regularly. Attendance must be recorded twice per day, morning and afternoon. Regulation 7 of the Education Regulations (Scotland) 1993 requires each child’s absence from school to be recorded in the school as authorised,  that is approved by the authority, or unauthorised that is unexplained by the parent (truancy) or temporarily excluded from school.

Good attendance leads to higher pupil attainment. One week’s absence means 3% of learning lost. Parents, pupils and teachers should all work together to achieve better attendance and higher achievement.

Attendance is recorded every period during the school day. If your young person is late then this will also be recorded. This allows us to monitor pupils’ attendance and timekeeping throughout the day. Pupils who are taking part in school activities will be marked accordingly.  Authorised absences include illness, medical or dental treatments and extenuating circumstances. Unauthorised absences are unexplained absences and cover truancy or if a parent provides no explanation for the absence.

Every effort should be made to avoid family holidays during term time as it both disrupts the young person’s education and reduces learning time. Parents should inform the school by letter if they are going on holiday outlining the dates and this will then be recorded as parental holiday.

If your child is absent from school you should:

• Call the Glasgow City Council absence reporting line on 01412870039 to make them aware of the absence, reason and duration if known.
• Give your young person a note on their return to school confirming the reason for the absence and the duration

   

  If we are not notified of an absence from school then you will receive a text from the school to make you aware of this. You will also receive a text to make you aware if your child is late for school. If no communication is provided then a telephone call or a letter will be sent to you asking for an explanation. If there is no response then this will be passed to our Education Liaison Officer. A pupil with a pattern of absence may be referred by the authority either to the Attendance Council or to the Children’s Panel.