Absence from School

We are proud of our record of high attendance and would encourage pupils joining us to strive for full attendance.

Illness
Parents are asked to make sure that their children attend school as regularly as possible. Because we are required by law to keep detailed figures, it is essential that parents send a brief note or telephone the school to explain absences. We ask that parents notify us on the first morning of a child's absence. If the school has not been notified then it is school policy that the office will try to contact parents. If your child has a stomach upset and sickness, it is important that you allow a period of at least 48 hours to elapse after the sickness has finished before sending him/her back to school. Such action will help to prevent the infection spreading unnecessarily to others in the school. 

Please CLICK HERE for guidance regarding infection control and common childhood illnesses. 

Holiday Requests

The Department of Education (DfE) have in their Amendments to the 2006 regulations removed references to family holiday and extended leave, as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days. The amendments make clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. This means that the Headteacher will no longer be able to authorise holiday requests, unless there are special or exceptional circumstances. 

The way in which the National Curriculum now operates makes it increasingly difficult for teachers to give children the opportunity to cover those areas missed through absence, and whole blocks of essential work may be missed (e.g. if a holiday is taken during the two weeks devoted to the teaching of multiplication, this is then not repeated until the following term).

Please fill in a form requesting authorisation for a holiday during term time - this can be found in the Attendance policy on this website. However, we do ask that you consider the issue carefully before taking your children out of school particularly in Years 2 and 6 when the National Curriculum Assessment Tasks and SATs are undertaken.

In some instances the cumulative effect of holidays and absence through illness can have serious implications with regard to progress and levels achieved. All absences, both authorised and unauthorised, will be reported to parents in July of each year.

The Attendance Summary Report for Milldene School for the year 2018 - 2019 is as follows:

• Average attendance 96.33%
• Authorised absence rate 2.78%
• Unauthorised absence rate 0.89%

Leave of Absence Application Form: Open PDF

Paper copies are available upon request from the school office via admin@milldene.essex.sch.uk.