Attendance and Penalty Notice Information

Students are to attend school every day unless they are unwell. There is a direct relationship between 100% attendance & academic performance.

Full day absences

There are times when students are not medically able to attend school and there are clear procedures to follow detailed below:

• To report your child absent, please email absence@fhes.org.uk EVERY day that your child is absent. Please email before 8.30am.  Please ensure you include your child’s full name, tutor group and reason for absence. 
• Ensure a letter or email of confirmation is sent to the Form Tutor/Attendance Officer when the student returns to school explaining the reason for the absence.
• Please note that absence@fhes.org.uk is only for recording an absence and we are unable to respond to messages left in this inbox due to the sheer volume left each day. 
• Contact the school promptly whenever a problem occurs which may keep the child away from school.

If you have not advised us of the absence, an email message will be sent to you regarding the whereabouts of your child. 

Upon the student's return it is their responsibility to meet with all the subject teachers for the lessons they have missed, to ensure all lesson work and home study is completed. Work is not sent home during absent periods.

The school employs an Inclusion Officer to work with students and their families who are experiencing problems with school attendance.

Request for leave of absence during term time

Parents are requested not to arrange family holidays during term time. Where it is completely unavoidable to take your child out of school, please collect a Leave of Absence form from reception and return to Mrs Webster well in advance of the date.  Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The school will not authorise absences for holidays during term time and any such requests will be marked as ‘unauthorised’ on your child’s records.

Should you persist in taking your child out of school without approval, you may receive a Penalty Notice for failing to ensure your child is in regular attendance at school.

Penalty Notices - Unauthorised Absence / Poor Attendance at School 

A Penalty Notice may be issued as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school (absence without the agreement of the school or not covered by a medical note) and will be used by Surrey County Council in the following circumstances :- 

1. Pupils identified by police and Inclusion Officers (formerly Education Welfare Officers) engaged on Truancy Patrols and who have incurred unauthorised absences.  
2. Leave of absence in term time without authority for 5 days or 10 sessions or more (which do not have to be consecutive).

• Please be aware that The Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment) Regulations 2013, which became law on 01 September 2013, states that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.  
• The Headteacher is also required to determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if leave is granted.
• In such cases, the Headteacher/Governing Body must decide whether there are exceptional circumstances.  They may request that the Local Authority issue Penalty Notices when the absence is not authorised.  
• Warnings will not be given where it can be shown that parents have been notified that such absences will not be authorised. 

3.  Finally, the issuing of a Penalty Notice will also be considered where it is judged that a parent is failing to ensure their child's regular school attendance.  

This will be considered when a pupil has incurred 7 or more unauthorised sessions in the previous 6 school weeks, which may include a pupil arriving late after close of registration.  

If you believe at any stage that your child’s absence from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice, it is extremely important that you act without delay to secure their regular attendance.   

If you have any questions or require further support to achieve an improvement in your child’s attendance, please contact Farnham Heath End School or the Inclusion Officer.  

Penalty Notice - Exclusions 

If a child is excluded from school, Section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a duty on parents/carers to ensure that their child is not in a public place without justifiable cause during school hours.   

This duty applies to the first five days of each exclusion.  Failure to do so will render the parent/carer liable to a Penalty Notice. (Alternative education provision will be made available from the sixth day of any exclusion.) 

Amount Payable for a Penalty Notice 

1. If you have not incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children in a rolling 3 year period since 19 August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80.00 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.
2. If you have incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19 August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.
3. If you have incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then you will NOT receive a third penalty notice – Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.

Please be aware that each parent is liable to receive a Penalty Notice for each child who incurs unauthorised absences, for example, if there are two parents and one child, each parent will receive one Penalty Notice.  

If there are two parents, and two children incur unauthorised absences, each parent will receive two Penalty Notices, which in this case would amount to £160 each if paid within 21 days. 

Surrey County Council is not responsible for authorising pupil absence and therefore cannot withdraw any Penalty Notice requests without the written permission of the Headteacher. 

Late arrivals to School

Should your child need to arrive late to school and miss morning registration due to an appointment, please follow the process below:

• Email absence@fhes.org.uk and detail the approximate arrival time at school.
• Ensure you include your child’s full name, tutor group and reason for absence. 
• Please note that this is only for recording an absence or late arrival and we are unable to respond to messages left in this inbox due to the sheer volume left each day. 

Students leaving the school site during the school day for an appointment

Should your child need to leave the school during the school day for an appointment, they will need to be collected by a parent /or carer. Please email the absence line, absence@fhes.org.uk, with evidence of the appointment.

If you wish your child to leave the site with an alternative adult (including older siblings), we will need confirmation from you via email prior to them leaving the site. Please send an email providing details of the appointment to absence@fhes.org.uk

Once the student returns back to school, they should sign back into Reception so we are aware they are back in the building. 

Parents do not need to come back into school with the students if the above process is followed.

Punctuality

Students are expected to arrive at school on time and ready to learn by 8.30am. 

If a student is late three times within a half term without good reason, a sanction will be imposed.

Students feeling unwell during the school day

Should a student start to feel unwell during the school day, they need to report to Mrs Webster or Mrs Fuller in the medical room at either break or lunchtime for assessment. 

Students should not contact home directly. Should a student choose to break this rule and contact you, their mobile phones will be confiscated. We ask that you support us with this and request that you do not text or telephone them during the school day. 

If you wish to access our Attendance Policy, please click on the link below:

Attendance Policy