Attendance
At Somers Park, we believe that excellent attendance is essential for children to achieve their full potential, develop positive relationships, and enjoy all aspects of school life. We work closely with pupils, parents and external agencies to promote high levels of attendance and punctuality, ensuring every child has the best possible opportunity to succeed.
School's Senior Attendance Champion: Miss Laura Edkins, Deputy Headteacher. Contact: sppsadmin@metacademies.org.uk
For day-to-day attendance queries, parents should contact Liah Holdham, Senior Administrator, mvpoffice@metacademies.org.uk
The school day timings can be found here. Registers are taken first thing and close at 9am. Parents and carers are expected to ensure their child arrives at school on time every day and attends regularly. If a child is absent due to illness or another unavoidable reason, parents should notify the school via the Arbor app by 9am. Requests for leave of absence during term time should be made in writing to the Headteacher and will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.
How we monitor attendance
The school monitors attendance daily and follows up all unexplained absences through our first-day response procedures. Where a reason for absence has not been provided, the school will contact parents to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child. If the absence is 3 days or more, we
will usually do a home visit for welfare and safeguarding reasons. Attendance and punctuality are reviewed regularly, and concerns are addressed at the earliest opportunity.
We promote and reward good attendance through emails home, attendance alpacas and celebration assemblies. Attendance data is analysed regularly to identify individuals, groups and cohorts who may require additional support. This enables us to provide targeted interventions and work collaboratively with families to improve attendance outcomes.
Where attendance becomes a concern, the school will seek to understand and address any barriers affecting attendance. Support may include meetings with families, pastoral support, referrals to external agencies and partnership working with the Local Authority where appropriate. We are committed to reducing persistent and severe absence through early intervention and tailored support plans.
The school follows the Department for Education's National Framework for Penalty Notices. Where support is not appropriate, has not been engaged with, or has not resulted in improved attendance, the school may issue a Notice to Improve and, where necessary, request a Penalty Notice or pursue other legal interventions in line with statutory guidance. This includes unauthorised term-time holidays and other avoidable absences.
The Law on School Attendance and Term-time Absence
The government’s statutory guidance, Working Together to Improve School Attendance (July 2026), makes clear that term-time absence should only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. The guidance states that it is unlikely that leave of absence will be granted for the purpose of a family holiday.
8. The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.
9. Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.
In line with national guidance, a family's desire to take a holiday or participate in leisure activities during term time will not normally be considered an exceptional circumstance. As a result, absences for unauthorised term-time holidays may lead to enforcement action by the Local Authority, including the issuing of Penalty Notices. Currently, fines are issued by the Local Authority and stand at £80 per parent, per child if paid within the specified timescale, rising thereafter in accordance with national regulations. Any fines collected are retained by the Local Authority and are not received by the school.
Parents wishing to request a leave of absence during term time must complete a Request for Leave of Absence During Term Time Form (see Appendix 5 of the Attendance Policy) and submit this to the Headteacher for consideration. Each request will be reviewed on an individual basis, taking into account the specific circumstances and the requirements of current legislation and Department for Education guidance.
Supporting Families: Educational Welfare Officer (EWO)
Educational Welfare Officer: Claire Smout
We have an Educational Welfare Officer, Claire Smout, who supports the school and families with attendance. Where we have concerns or the EWO suggests improvements are needed for individuals, Mrs Smout may visit the home or arrange a meeting with parents. This could be if holidays are taken during term time or if a pupil has a high level of absence from school for any reason. We will always work with families to improve attendance, however support and engagement from parents and carers is fundamental in enabling this to happen.
If you want to find out more, the government guidance can be found through this link.
MET Attendance Policy
MET Attendance & Punctuality Policy August 2024.pdf
MET Attendance Documents
Do I need to keep my child off school?
