16th September 2016
Dear Parent/Carer
Monitoring Pupil Attendance – Important Information for Parents and Carers
I am writing to remind existing parents and to inform new parents on how attendance is monitored at Ling Moor
Primary Academy. In the light of recent publicity, I would also like to take this opportunity to update you on the
regulations surrounding leave of absence for family holidays taken during term time.
As you will be aware, at Ling Moor Primary Academy we strongly believe that regular attendance is essential to
enable pupils to achieve their full potential. To this end the academy will do as much as it can to ensure that all
pupils achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems, which may impede full attendance, are
acted upon as quickly as possible.
Attendance Monitoring and Intervention
At Ling Moor we already have in place procedures for monitoring pupil absence and, where required, will provide
suitable intervention and support to tackle any issues that occur.
Your child’s attendance at Ling Moor Primary Academy is monitored very closely. To avoid attendance becoming
a concern, it is vitally important that in the first instance you contact the Academy to discuss any problems you
may have getting your child to school. Clear communication is paramount as together we may be able to
resolve the issue swiftly.
If attendance starts to cause a concern and/or drops below an acceptable level then the following steps will be
taken:

You will receive a letter from the academy informing you that your child’s attendance is causing
concern and inviting you to attend a meeting to discuss the issues causing higher than anticipated
absence.

A meeting will then take place with you to discuss your child’s attendance.

Following this, if attendance remains a concern then you will be requested to attend an attendance
meeting with the Academy Attendance Officer, John Bustin, who will detail the formal steps the
Academy will take if attendance does not improve.

Should attendance still not improve then formal steps will be followed with the possibility of legal action
being taken,
Update – Term Time Leave of Absence (including holiday requests)
Please remember that Ling Moor Primary Academy does not authorise term time leave of absence except in
exceptional circumstances. The fundamental principles of defining ‘exceptional’ are rare, significant,
unavoidable and short. By ‘unavoidable’ we mean an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another
time.
As many parents are aware, if absence requests do not meet the exceptional circumstance criteria then the
absence from school will be deemed unauthorised and a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine) may be issued if the
unauthorised absence for their child exceeds 15% or more in a six week period (4.5 days or 9 sessions).
Recently, several parents have been to see me to ask if the policy on allowing family holidays during term time
has changed in the light of recent court case in the Isle of Wight. To clarify, please be aware that the national
policy remains the same and as such we will still not allow holidays to be taken during term time unless they
meet the exceptional circumstance criteria. Fixed penalty notices remain in place and will be issued if the level of
unauthorised absence (which could include a family holiday) is inappropriate.
I have attached a leaflet about Fixed Penalty Notices with this letter.
Further information regarding the attendance policy, penalty notices and exceptional circumstances
criteria are available on the academy website www.ling-moor.lincs.sch.uk.
Please do not hesitate to contact the academy directly should you require further clarification on any of the
points above.
Yours sincerely
Jill Marston
Headteacher