Attendance Matters – 2024/2025

At Acacias Primary, we firmly believe that regular school attendance is essential for the educational progress and overall wellbeing of all our pupils.  We share the Department for

Education’s (DfE) ambitions to improve school attendance.  In this letter we have highlighted some of the support on offer from us. However, we also want to describe the important nationwide changes that come into force on 19th August 2024 in relation to the issuing of fines.

Why regular attendance matters

Consistent school attendance allows your child to:

•        Fully engage in learning and make academic progress

•        Develop critical social skills by interacting with their friends and teachers

•        Grow in confidence in a supportive and nurturing school environment

•        Build a sense of routine and responsibility, essential for future success

Support First

At Acacias Primary we understand that some pupils may face challenges that impact their attendance. Our school's attendance team is here to provide support and guidance to pupils and families in such situations. If you encounter any difficulties related to attendance, please do reach out to me or Mrs Farren for advice or support.

What happens if my child has a period of unauthorised absence?

One of the main changes from the Department for Education is how sanctions for unauthorised absence are used.

If you take an unauthorised holiday in term time or have other periods of unauthorised absence the headteacher will submit a report to Manchester City Council which may result in the issuing of a fine (known as a fixed-penalty notice). If issued with one, you’ll need to pay this directly to the local authority – £80 within 21 days, or £160 within 28 days.

The decision whether to issue a fine will take into account whether a national threshold has been met – this is typically 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks – as well as other factors.

If there was a second period of unauthorised absence within a three-year period then a second penalty notice could be issued, and this would be at the higher rate of £160.

Further periods of absence within three years, could mean that you are taken to court with no option of a penalty notice and the risk of facing of a significantly higher fine or possible prosecution.

These rules are coming into force, for children of statutory school age, across the country on 19thAugust 2024 as part of the Department for Educations drive to improve school attendance for all school children.

Term-time holidays will not be authorised during the school year. Absences due to term-time holidays are disruptive to learning and lead to missed opportunities in the classroom. This includes periods of extended leave. If your child is absent from school we will continue to do a first day of absence telephone call and follow this with a possible home visit. However, we recognise that there may be exceptional circumstances and in such rare cases, please submit a formal request to the headteacher well in advance for careful consideration.

Please get in touch with us by email (a.litchfield@acacias.manchester.sch.uk) if you have any further questions, and we'll be happy to discuss them with you.

Thank you for your co-operation and commitment in ensuring your child is in school every day.

Further information can be found in our Attendance Policy (click here) 

These are some important documents to support good school attendance.

School Attendance Data

Attendance Matters – 2024/2025

At Acacias Primary, we firmly believe that regular school attendance is essential for the educational progress and overall wellbeing of all our pupils.  We share the Department for

Education’s (DfE) ambitions to improve school attendance.  In this letter we have highlighted some of the support on offer from us. However, we also want to describe the important nationwide changes that come into force on 19th August 2024 in relation to the issuing of fines.

Why regular attendance matters

Consistent school attendance allows your child to:

•        Fully engage in learning and make academic progress

•        Develop critical social skills by interacting with their friends and teachers

•        Grow in confidence in a supportive and nurturing school environment

•        Build a sense of routine and responsibility, essential for future success

Support First

At Acacias Primary we understand that some pupils may face challenges that impact their attendance. Our school's attendance team is here to provide support and guidance to pupils and families in such situations. If you encounter any difficulties related to attendance, please do reach out to me or Mrs Farren for advice or support.

What happens if my child has a period of unauthorised absence?

One of the main changes from the Department for Education is how sanctions for unauthorised absence are used.

If you take an unauthorised holiday in term time or have other periods of unauthorised absence the headteacher will submit a report to Manchester City Council which may result in the issuing of a fine (known as a fixed-penalty notice). If issued with one, you’ll need to pay this directly to the local authority – £80 within 21 days, or £160 within 28 days.

The decision whether to issue a fine will take into account whether a national threshold has been met – this is typically 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks – as well as other factors.

If there was a second period of unauthorised absence within a three-year period then a second penalty notice could be issued, and this would be at the higher rate of £160.

Further periods of absence within three years, could mean that you are taken to court with no option of a penalty notice and the risk of facing of a significantly higher fine or possible prosecution.

These rules are coming into force, for children of statutory school age, across the country on 19thAugust 2024 as part of the Department for Educations drive to improve school attendance for all school children.

Term-time holidays will not be authorised during the school year. Absences due to term-time holidays are disruptive to learning and lead to missed opportunities in the classroom. This includes periods of extended leave. If your child is absent from school we will continue to do a first day of absence telephone call and follow this with a possible home visit. However, we recognise that there may be exceptional circumstances and in such rare cases, please submit a formal request to the headteacher well in advance for careful consideration.

Please get in touch with us by email (a.litchfield@acacias.manchester.sch.uk) if you have any further questions, and we'll be happy to discuss them with you.

Thank you for your co-operation and commitment in ensuring your child is in school every day.

Further information can be found in our Attendance Policy (click here) 

These are some important documents to support good school attendance.

School Attendance Data