Absence

At Collyer’s we want all our students to achieve their potential and also to prepare themselves for the next
stage of their lives. There is a strong correlation between attendance and punctuality in lessons and
achievement. We expect all our students to aim for 100% attendance and punctuality and this will be
carefully monitored by subject teachers and personal tutors. We send a weekly absence report to
parents/carers (usually on a Monday), if there has been an unreported absence recorded for the previous
week. Parents/carers can also check attendance and punctuality using MyStudent and we encourage you
to do this on a regular basis during the first term to ensure your young person is settling into good habits.

In September 2023, the DfE published the following guidance on attendance for parents and
carers which you may find useful for reference:

• It is usually appropriate for parents and carers to send their children to school with mild
respiratory illnesses. This would include general cold symptoms: a minor cough, runny nose or
sore throat. However, children should not be sent to school if they have a temperature of 38°C
or above. The NHS ‘Is my child too ill for school?’ guidance provides further useful information.

• In addition to respiratory illnesses, we are aware that more children may be absent from school
due to symptoms of anxiety than before the pandemic. Worry and mild or moderate anxiety,
whilst sometimes difficult emotions, can be a normal part of growing up for many children and
young people. Being in school can often help alleviate the underlying issues. A prolonged
period of absence is likely to heighten a child’s anxiety about attending in the future, rather
than reduce it. DfE has published useful guidance on mental health issues affecting a pupil’s
attendance and those who are experiencing persistent symptoms can be encouraged to
access additional support.

Reporting Absence

Absences should only be reported by parents/carers via email absence@collyers.ac.uk or by calling the Absence Line on 01403 216528. Leave the student’s name, tutor and reason for absence. Students may not report their own absences, however as a courtesy they can inform their subject teachers and/or tutors via email and must catch up missed work.

General Absences – email or phone

General absences include; sickness, hospital and doctor appointments, and emergency dentist appointments, funerals, driving tests and university interviews or open days. Non-emergency dentist appointments will not be authorised and should be booked outside of lesson times.

Parents/carers should inform the College of an absence as early as possible and ideally before the lesson or lessons that will be affected by phoning or emailing as above. For absences of more than one day, a phone call or email each morning will be needed. If a student leaves during the day because they are unwell, parents/carers must confirm they are aware of the absence via the Absence email. Should you be unable to report an absence on the day, then please contact the college within one calendar week (five working days) of the absence.  Any queries about the accuracy of registers should be raised by the student with the member of staff concerned.

Exceptional Absences – email or letter only

Exceptional absences include; holidays, family events (e.g. weddings), religious observance, caring emergencies, bereavements (except single day absence for a funeral – see above), sporting events, external exams and all other exceptional requests. Holidays should not be taken in term-time and the dates are available well in advance on the College website.

In all cases parents/carers must request authorisation from the College in advance via email or letter only. Exceptional absences will not be retrospectively approved. Holiday requests will be considered by the Principal. All other exceptional requests will be considered by the Vice Principal (Pastoral).