At Limpsfield Grange, we expect parents and carers to:

  • Make sure their daughter attends every day on time and is prepared for the school day;
  • Notify the school of their daughter’s absence by leaving a message on the absence line by 8am every day that she is absent, giving the reason for the absence;  
  • Provide the school with at least two emergency contact names and phone numbers for their daughter. This is in addition to parent/carer contact numbers;
  • Notify the school immediately of any changes to contact details;
  • Ensure that, where possible, appointments for their daughter are made outside of the school day;
  • Seek support where necessary for maintaining consistently high levels of attendance, by contacting the Deputy Headteacher.
  • Proactively engage with any support offered to prevent the need for more formal support;
  • Ensure that their daughter is ready for the agreed pick up time, if using Local Authority provided transport.

 

Punctuality and Lateness

Punctuality to school is crucial and registration at the beginning of the day with a student’s tutor is an important time of the day. Lateness into school causes disruption to the individual’s learning and to that of the other students in the class. It is paramount therefore, that all students arrive at school on time. 

The school day starts at 9am but the school is open from 8.30am.  Students who arrive after 9am will be recorded as late to school. Registers close at 9.15am and after this, lateness is recorded as an unauthorised absence and can therefore be subject to legal intervention. Students arriving late must ensure they go straight to Reception to register.

Students arriving late due to Local Authority provided transport, will not be penalised. 

 

Unplanned absence

The student’s parent/carer must notify the school of the reason for the absence by leaving a message on the absence line by 8am every day that their daughter is absent.   We do not accept notification by email.

We will usually mark absence due to illness as authorised. However, in some circumstances the school will ask the student’s parent/carer to provide medical evidence such as a doctor’s note, prescription or appointment card/text/email in order for the absence to be authorised.  

 

Responding to unexplained absence

If no message is left on the absence line by the parent/carer by 8am, every day that the student is absent, the school will endeavour to contact the parent/carer that day. If the parent/carer is not reachable by telephone, a ParentMail (email and text message) will be sent, requesting the parent/carer to contact the school within the next 30 minutes. If there is still no response, the school will contact the emergency contacts held for that student.  The school will then consider whether other agencies (such as the Police or Children’s Social Care) need to be involved.

 

Planned absence due to appointments

Students are not allowed to leave with a parent/carer during the school day without prior permission from the Deputy Headteacher.  Parents are requested to inform the school at least 24 hours in advance of an appointment that will require absence from school by sending an email to secretary@limpsfield-grange.surrey.sch.uk, copying to the Deputy Headteacher (deputy@limpsfield-grange.surrey.sch.uk) and attaching confirmation of the appointment.     Students must sign out at Reception on leaving the school and sign back in on their return.  Where a student is being collected from the school, parents/carers must report to Reception before the student is allowed to leave the site.

We encourage parents/carers to make all appointments, including medical and dental appointments, outside of school hours where possible. Where this is not possible, the student should be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary, which is usually only the session (morning or afternoon) during which the appointment takes place. The location of the appointment and the necessary travel time, will be taken into consideration.

Attending a medical or dental appointment will be recorded as authorised, as long as the student’s parent/carer notifies the school in advance of the appointment and provides an appointment card/letter/text/email to confirm the absence, within 24 hours of the appointment taking place.  However, absence for more than one session will not be authorised if it is considered that the student could have attended school in the session before or after the appointment.

 

Leave of absence during term time

The Headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to a student during term time if the request meets the specific circumstances set out in the 2024 school attendance regulations.

A leave of absence is granted at the Headteacher’s discretion, including the length of time the student is authorised to be absent for. Limpsfield Grange considers each application for a leave of absence individually, taking into account the specific facts, circumstances and relevant context behind the request. The Headteacher will require evidence to support any request for a leave of absence.

Parents and carers who wish to request a leave of absence during term time must put their request in writing to the Deputy Headteacher at least two weeks in advance of the date of the requested absence. 

The school holiday and INSET dates are published at the earliest opportunity and we expect parents and carers to book their family holidays during the school holidays.   As the Headteacher will only grant a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances it is unlikely that a leave of absence will be granted for the purposes of a family holiday or for the purpose of leisure or recreation.   Where a leave of absence is taken and is not considered an exceptional circumstance, it will be recorded on a student’s attendance record as unauthorised absence. 

 

Legal intervention

The law protects students’ rights to an education and provides a range of legal interventions to formalise attendance improvement efforts and enforce them through prosecuting parents. Limpsfield Grange will make use of the full range of potential sanctions to tackle poor attendance, including, but not limited to, those listed below. Decisions will be made on an individual case by case basis.

 

Penalty Notices

The Surrey Attendance Service, acting on behalf of Surrey County Council may issue a Penalty Notice as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school and require the recipient to pay a fixed amount.

 

Notices to improve

If the national threshold has been met and support is appropriate, but parent/carers do not engage with offers of support, the school may offer a notice to improve to give parents/carers a final chance to engage with support. Notices to improve will be issued in line with processes set out in the local code of conduct for Surrey County Council.