Attendance

: News/Events

It is important that you support your son to attend school regularly and on time. In the case of illness, or any other unavoidable circumstance, parents should telephone the school office as early as possible on the morning of their son’s absence (and certainly before 9am) or email Mrs Desai, Attendance and Admin Officer, at adesai@southborough.kingston.sch.uk or Ms Mead, Receptionist, at nmead@southborough.kingston.sch.uk . It is a legal requirement that any unexplained absence is kept on record and reported. If you know of any absence in advance, ie medical appointments, please do let us know in plenty of time.

Punctuality:

Parents are responsible for ensuring that their son leaves home in time to arrive at school punctually. Students are late if they arrive after 8:45am but before 11:00am in the morning. If students are late they should carry a note of explanation from the parent. Students who arrive after 11.00am are recorded absent for the morning session.

Medical appointments:

The school expects parents to try to arrange these visits out of school hours. Should it be necessary for a student to leave the school premises during the day, a written note must be shown to his tutor, providing the time of absence. This should be signed by your son’s Head of Year or a Senior Teacher and presented to the office when signing out. Students will be expected to return to school after morning appointments.

Holidays:

The school expects parents to arrange family holidays and outings outside of term time.

Parents who require some non-medical leave of absence for their son should complete a form (available from the school office and here) providing clear and justifiable reasons for the absence. Family holidays will be unapproved as leave of absence will only be authorised by the Headteacher for very short periods in exceptional circumstances.

Any absence not properly explained, or requested, will be recorded as unauthorised and will reflect badly on your son’s personal record as well as on the reputation of the school. The school will contact the parents of any boy who does not arrive at school, about whom no prior notification of absence has been received. Boys who take leave during term time are expected to complete work whilst they are away.

Fixed Penalty Notices

If students are repeatedly absent without a valid reason authorised by the school a Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued to the parents/carers. A warning letter will be sent first and if attendance does not improve, a fine will be issued and court proceedings could be a possibility. A letter informing you more about the fix penalty notice can be found here.