Absences

If your child is going to be absent from school for any reason, we must receive notification before 8.45am on the first day of absence. 

If your child is on the “walk to school” list, please notify us by 8.45am if they are going to be absent. The school will do it’s best to contact parents at home or work if a child has not arrived by 9.15am and there is no notification of absence.

You may notify us by:

Email: info@holland.surrey.sch.uk

Letter: Holland Junior School, Holland Road, Oxted RH8 9BQ

Telephone: 01883 715801 and select Option 1 to report an absence

Any absence that is not explained will be marked as unauthorised. At the end of the year all unauthorised absences will be noted on your child’s report. A high occurrence of unauthorised absence may lead to Education Welfare involvement. 

Attendance & Punctuality

Absence for family holidays is strongly discouraged as all absences may limit your child’s progress.

However, authorised absence may be requested in exceptional circumstances.  Authorisation forms, to be completed in advance, may be obtained from the school office. In addition, it is necessary for the parent requesting leave, to detail the reasons why it is not possible to take the holiday in the 14 weeks already available (including statutory INSET days). 

Lateness is considered an absence and will be registered as such on the annual report.  A late book is kept in the entrance hall that children are expected to sign, with the specific reason for their lateness.  If they are late for registration this will be marked late in the register. Registration closes at 9.00am after which time absence is marked as unauthorised.

An Educational Welfare Officer visits the school to assist both staff and governors in a variety of ways including difficulties of attendance; transport to and from school; arrangements about school meals and other social matters.

Visits to the dentist or doctor should, if possible, be arranged outside school hours. Should a child need to be absent for such appointments, please notify the school in advance either in person or by telephone, and notify the school office on return.

Penalty Notices

A Penalty Notice may be issued as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school and will be used by Surrey County Council in the following circumstances:

1. Pupils identified by police and education welfare officers engaged on Truancy Patrols and who have incurred unauthorised absences.
2. Unauthorised holidays in term time (5 days or 10 sessions or more). In such cases the Head teacher/Governing Body may request that the Local Authority issue a Penalty Notice. Warnings will not be given where it can be shown that parents have been notified that such absences will not be authorised.
3. The issue of a Penalty Notice will also be considered where it is judged that a parent is failing to ensure their child’s regular school attendance. This includes children who are late after the close of the registration period of their school on at least 5 occasions in any half term.

If you believe at any stage that your child’s absence from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice, it is extremely important that you take action without delay to secure their regular attendance.  If you have any questions or require further support to achieve an improvement, please contact the school or the education welfare officer.

Penalty Notice relating to Exclusions

If a child is excluded from school, Section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a duty on parents/carers to ensure that their child is not in a public place without justifiable cause during school hours.

This duty applies to the first five days of each exclusion.  Failure to do so will render the parent/carer liable to a Penalty Notice. (Alternative education provision will be made available from the sixth day of any exclusion.)

Amount Payable for a Penalty Notice

The amount payable for a Penalty Notice issued in any of the above circumstances is £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the Notice, rising to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.

If the Penalty Notice is not paid within 28 days, the recipient will be prosecuted in the Magistrates Court for the offence for which the Notice was originally issued.

Advice and support is available from an Education Welfare Officer by contacting your local Education Office as follows:

North West: 01483 518130

North East: 01372 833588

South West: 01483 517179

South East: 01737 737777