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The Charter School

East Dulwich

Attendance

If you are reporting an absence from school please contact:

For year 7-11, please contact Ms Pearce on 020 3873 2290 or email: attendance@chartereastdulwich.org.uk.

For year 12-13, Please contact the Sixth Form Admin Team on 020 3873 2290 or email: sixthform@chartereastdulwich.org.uk

 

At The Charter School East Dulwich (TCSED), we have always taken a very straightforward approach to attendance: We expect students to be in school every day barring serious illness or accident and do not permit holidays during term time. 

Parents should be aware that the law now enforces the position regarding holidays. The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013, which became law on 1st September 2013, state that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. The Headteacher should determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if leave is granted.

In accordance with the above regulations, requests for leave of absence will be treated sympathetically, but only in exceptional circumstances can they be approved. The policy of Southwark County Council (to which the Charter School North Dulwich has agreed) states that parents who take their child out of school for five days or more during term time, without the authority of the Headteacher, will be liable to receive a penalty notice. Penalty Notices will be issued by the Local Authority, and are issued separately to each parent, per child absent.

The penalty is £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice, rising to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days of receipt of the notice. If the penalty is not paid in full by the end of the 28-day period the Local Authority must prosecute the recipient for failing to ensure regular school attendance under section 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 incurring unauthorised absences, each parent will receive two Penalty Notices, which in this case would amount to £120 each if paid within 21 days.

There is additional, more detailed guidance in our attendance policy which can be found in the policies section of our website.


Reporting Medical Absences
All medical and dental appointments should be made outside of school hours and where possible avoided, to prevent disruption to a student's learning. 
To report a medical or dental appointment, please inform the school in advance wherever possible by emailing attendance@chartereastdulwich.org.uk only. 

Please remember to write a note in your child's planner to confirm the absence in order for the class teacher to release your child from their lesson. It is the responsibility of the student to leave the lesson, they will not be collected from their lesson. 
All Students must sign in and out of school via reception for health and safety purposes. 

Any student with a medical absence of more than 4 days within a short period., must provide a doctor's note. Please note that this may incur a cost, TCSED is not able to reimburse this cost 


ClassCharts 
We advise our parents/carers to download the ClassCharts app to keep track of your child's attendance. If you would like to discuss your child's attendance, please contact your child's tutor or the attendance team via email. 

Punctuality
Students are required to be at school by 8:28am. Students arriving after this time will be sanctioned with a Late to school detention for the following day for 30 minutes after school. 
Traffic/public transport delays are not acceptable reasons for lateness. The school will only make exceptions for reported major problems such as heavy snowfall or storms, or published travel disruption.

Attendance Recording 
Registers close at 9am and students will receive a U Code (Unauthorised absence) if they arrive after this time. If students are arriving at school after 9am it is imperative that they sign in at reception using our electronic system, Inventry.
This system is monitored throughout the day and student attendance is updated accordingly. 
Persistent lateness and absences are monitored closely by the attendance officer, heads of year, assistant head teachers and the Educational Welfare Officer. 
                                                 
Notification of Absence
Parents are required to notify the school office via phone or email each day of any absence. Providing as much detail as possible, saying that your child is 'sick' or 'unwell' will not suffice and will result in an unauthorised absence.