Absences
Reporting absence guidance
It is vital that you inform the college before 8.00 am in the morning if your child is too ill to attend college (for every day of absence) or they are attending a medical appointment.
Please use EdulinkOne to report your child's absence.
If you are unsure of how to do this please contact your child’s Pastoral Leader
Please be aware that if your child is absent from school for more than one consecutive day due to illness you must provide us with medical evidence. This can take the form of a doctors appointment card or prescription.
Withdrawal from learning during term time
Did you know that across the year there are just 190 school days? That means there are already 175 days set aside for weekends, holidays, family visits and rewarding days out. We believe every school day counts to give your child the greatest opportunity of attaining a good education and to support a happy and healthy future.
With 175 days already marked out as ‘non-school-days’, you should have an exceptional reason to withdraw your child from school. The following are not considered to be exceptional circumstances and are likely to be rejected and unauthorised:
- Trips to visit family/friends
- Your child’s birthday
- Cheaper family holidays
- Tickets to sports/culture events
Form to request withdrawal from learning in term time
By completing and submitting this form I understand that if the request is unauthorised the Legal Interventions Team at East Sussex County Council will be notified of the absence taken and a legal intervention may be instigated in the form of a Penalty Notice. I also understand that if a Penalty Notice is issued it will be to each parent for each child taken out of school. I also acknowledge the following:
- A limit of no more than 2 penalty notices will be issued to the same parent for the same student within a 3-year rolling period. This will apply from 19 August 2024.
- The first penalty notice issued to the parent for that student will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days reducing to £80 if paid within 21 days.
- Where it is deemed appropriate to issue a second penalty notice to the same parent for the same student within 3 years of the first notice, the second notice is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days.
- A third penalty notice will not be issued within a 3-year period. Therefore, in cases where the threshold is met for a third (or subsequent) time within those 3 years, a penalty notice cannot be issued, and alternative action will be taken instead. This will often include considering prosecution but may include other tools such as one of the other attendance legal interventions.
- I understand that if I do not pay the penalty notice this will result in legal action.
Request for term time withdrawal from learningAll withdrawal from learning requests must be completed on the form, letters will not be accepted. Please make a copy of the request form template above, which will enable you to edit it and then return to us.
This should be returned to the College at least 14 days before the start of the requested withdrawal from learning.
A response will be sent to you as soon as possible. If the withdrawal from learning is not considered to be an exceptional circumstance, and you nevertheless take your child out of school, it will be recorded as unauthorised.
Why excellent attendance matters
Missing two weeks for a family holiday taken in term time will mean that your child has missed 50 hours of learning new things which they will never be taught again but will face questions on in exams in the future. Having broken attendance (a day off every week or fortnight, on random days) means that students will miss five hours of new learning each time but will struggle to understand the work they do the following week because lessons are taught in sequences which rely on prior knowledge. There is a stark correlation between absence and exam results. Put simply, students who miss school regularly, reduce their lifetime earning potential because they achieve worse exam results than their peers, and develop poor habits to take into the workplace where high levels of absence, poor punctuality, or an indifferent attitude to responsibility can result in dismissal.
Unauthorised withdrawal from learning
In the case of an unauthorised absence, the Education Support, Behaviour & Attendance Service may be notified of the absence taken and a Penalty Notice may be issued.
Please see the information above.
