Attendance and Holidays

At Patchway Community School we are passionate about attendance because being in school regularly really does matter! 

Building habits of regular attendance ensures that your child enjoys all of the many benefits that school brings, such as, opportunities for learning and making progress, as well as wider personal development opportunities like enjoying different enrichment clubs and sports or creative clubs. 

Making connections everyday with other children and staff also builds belonging, which we believe is an essential component of a healthy, happy child. 

Where any parent or carer has concerns about their child’s attendance, we really want to hear from you so that we can work together to reduce absence from school. We know that for some children, returning to school and the routine of learning has been more difficult - please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. 

Details about our approach, what you can expect from us and what is expected from students and parents or guardians can be found in our attendance policy.

Click here to view our attendance policy. 

New guidance about attendance has been published by the government and is effective from 18th August 2024. This guidance can be found here and a letter we have sent to update families can be accessed here.

If you are concerned about your child's attendance please reach out for support. Contact main reception on 01454 862 020 or email StudentAbsence@patchwaycs.org.uk 

Attendance Team

• Form Tutors
• Abigail Boyce - Head of  Year 7 
• Sarah Cousins - Head of  Year 8 
• Luke Plummer - Head of  Year 9 
• Amie Fenlon - Head of  Year 10
• George Haskins - Head of Year 11
• Claudia Chan - Attendance Officer
• Harry Marson-Strutt - Assistant Headteacher/Attendance Lead

What is "Good Attendance?

Every moment is school counts, and missed days can add up quickly. The table below outlines what good attendance is. Given every day missed will create gaps in learning and lost experience with friends we encourage families and pupils to aim for 100% attendance.

 How can parents/Carers help?

• Telling your child how important school is  
• Praising your child’s achievements and celebrating their success
• Organising non-urgent medical appointments after school  
• Helping your child get into a routine at breakfast and bedtime 
• Encouraging healthy eating and exercise

Your child must attend every day that the school is open, unless:

• Your child is too ill to attend that day. More guidance on this can be found here: Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
• You have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on that day due to exceptional circumstances.
• Your child cannot attend school on that day because it is a day you are taking part in religious observance
• Your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it is not available on that day or has not been provided yet; or
• You are a gypsy/traveller family with no fixed abode, and you are required to travel for work that day meaning your child cannot attend their usual school. In most circumstances, however, your child is required to attend another school temporarily during such absences.

These are the only circumstances where schools can permit your child to be absent.

Rewards

We value and recognise good attendance at Patchway Community School. Learners who maintain excellent attendance records throughout the academic year are eligible for special rewards and recognition. 

• Pupils who achieve 100% attendance each week receive 3 reward points and are entered into a raffle with 1 prize per year group per week.
• Certificates are given to pupils who have 100% attendance for a term 
• Certificates are given to pupils who have 100% attendance for a year

Let's work together to celebrate and encourage regular attendance. 

Reporting Absence

Please let the school know every day your child is absent. You can use a free app, called Studybugs, to report absence. You will need to create an account using the email we have on record for you so we know the absence is being reporting by a parent/guardian. Alternatively you can click on the link at the top of the page. 

If you have any problems accessing or using the app you can still report absence by either calling our reception 01454 862 020 or emailing us at: absence@patchwaycs.org.uk 

Unauthorised Absences and Fixed Penalty Notices

In cases where no valid reason for absence has been provided or where your child arrives after the register has closed, at 9am, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. 

Where no reason has been provided we will contact you either by text, email or telephone to check if your child is safe and why they are absent. In some cases either school or our Education Welfare service, SG Education Welfare Consultancy Ltd, will carry out a home visit.

Fixed Penalty Notices

The Headteacher may issue a fine (known as a fixed-penalty notice) for unauthorised absence. This included unauthorised absences due to no valid reason being provided and holidays. If issued with one, you will need to pay this directly to the local authority – £80 within 21 days, or £160 within 28 days.

The decision whether to issue a fine will take into account whether the national threshold has been met – namely 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks – as well as other factors. Note that 10 sessions are 5 full days.

Before a fine is issued, you may receive a notice to improve to give you a chance to engage with support.

Click here for information on penalties enforced by South Gloucestershire Local Authority

Holiday Request Form

 Please click this link for the form.