Term Time Absence

To report an absence

Please report an absence through Edulink.

A reminder that when requesting a pupil’s absence from school you must complete an Absence Request Form in advance.  This is required for all absences other than medical/dental appointments. You can access the form using this link. 

It is the responsibility of parents/carers to contact the school before 8.30am on the first day of a pupil’s absence and then on every day until the pupil returns. If the school is not contacted, the school will contact parents/carers by text/email message to alert them to their child’s absence. If no reply is received by 10:30am the Attendance Officer (AO) will phone the parent/carer of the pupil to establish their whereabouts. If there is no contact, the absence will be marked as unauthorised.
For Sixth Form absences please email sixthform@thekingstonacademy.org

What does the law say?

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Amendment Regulations 2013 states that head teachers must not grant any leave of absence during term time unless:

  • an application has been made in advance by a parent with whom the pupil normally resides; and
  • there are exceptional circumstances.

If leave is granted, the head teacher must determine the number of school days a pupil can be away from school.

When will requests for absence be authorised?

Permission for absence can only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

Family holidays are not exceptional circumstances. All requests for absence related to holidays during term time will be refused and will be recorded as an unauthorised absence on your child’s attendance record.

How do I request an authorised absence?

If you consider there to be exceptional circumstances, a request should be made using this Absence Request Form. You should set out as much information as possible to explain why you feel there are exceptional circumstances which make it necessary for your child to be absent from school. Copies of any supporting documentation should be attached to the form

To provide enough time for the application to be considered and responded to, you must request leave for exceptional circumstances at least 3 school days in advance and ideally as far in advance as possible.

A decision will be made and sent to you by email.

How do I request permission for my child to leave school early?

A request for your child to leave school early represents an absence from school and is therefore treated in the same way and follows the same procedures as for a leave of absence (see above).

What if I take my child out of school when the absence has not been authorised?

Any leave of absence that is not authorised in advance may result in a Penalty Notice being issued by the Royal Borough of Kingston to each parent/carer. The Penalty Notice carries a fine of up to £60 per child, rising to £120 if not paid within 21 days (if the fine is not paid after 28 days parents/carers may be prosecuted).

Attendance Policy

A copy of our full Attendance Policy can be downloaded from the Policies page of this website.