School Attendance

Ousedale seeks the support of its parents in our efforts to maintain our high attendance rates for students. Uninterrupted education maximises learning opportunities and avoids a discontinuity which can be so damaging to progress and achievement. We reward those pupils who achieve 100% attendance during the course of an academic year with a special certificate.

Form Tutors and Heads of Year and our Attendance Officer invest a great deal of time in determining and monitoring the reasons for absence and in following up with parents, by telephone or letter, unexplained non-attendance. We also operate a system of periodic spot checks to detect post-registration truancy. Any truant can expect to be punished by an after-school detention. We ask parents to confirm the reasons for their son's/daughter's absence by a note to the form tutor which can be delivered on return to school.

We require telephone notifications of student illnesses on the morning of the first day of absence, wherever possible before the start of the school day. Failure to notify the school will result in the absence counting as 'unauthorised'. We are unable to sanction absences for reasons such as shopping, waiting in for a delivery or birthdays. Long-term sickness requires a medical note from the child's doctor - it may then be possible for us to secure home tuition for the student.

Parents may request a percentage attendance record for their child at any time by 'phoning the Head of Year.

HOLIDAYS

The Government strongly urges parents to avoid booking family holidays during term time as this will disrupt education.  There is no right to take a child out of school for a holiday.  However, if parents apply in advance to the student’s Head of Year/Head of Lower/Upper School, they may be granted up to two weeks (10 days) absence in one school year.  Parents will only be contacted by the Head of Year if there is cause for concern.  Holiday forms are obtainable from Matron.  Unauthorised absences may result in a fixed penalty fine.