Attendance

Here at QEHS we believe that excellent attendance promotes excellent learning. Regular school attendance is essential if young people are to achieve their full potential.

We aim for students to have attendance above 96%. Regular school attendance is crucial to allowing young people to maximise the educational opportunities available to them and become emotionally resilient, confident and competent adults who are able to realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to their community.

We value all students and believe they are entitled to an excellent education. As set out in our Attendance Policy, we will work with families to identify the reasons for poor attendance and try to resolve any difficulties. Early intervention will be a priority and we will work closely with the Education Welfare Office where poor attendance does not improve quickly.

Attendance enquiries can be sent to attendance@qehs.net

For our full Attendance Policy, please see our Policies page.

Absence

If your son/daughter is too ill to attend school, please call our Absence Line for Yrs 9 -11: 01434 610354 and for Sixth Form Telephone: 01434 610363, between 8.30 am and 9.00 am. When calling, please provide as much information as possible, including the student’s full name, the nature of the illness, and the name of the person calling. 

Before 8.30 am, parents/carers may call Reception (open from 8.00 am on Monday to Thursday and 8.15 am on Friday) to report an absence.

Please remember, the school is responsible for authorising the absence, not parents/carers, so there may be follow up calls from Year Team staff.

We aim to contact all parents/carers of students on the first day of absence if no contact has been made. This is done via a text message asking parents/carers to confirm the reason for absence.

Leave of Absence for Medical Appointments

If you need to take your child out of school for a medical appointment or similar, please complete a leave of absence form at least a week in advance, detailing the circumstances and duration of the absence.  Whilst we understand that some appointments are unavoidable, we would ask that, where possible, appointments are made outside of school hours.

Leave of Absence During Term Time

Children of school age who are registered at a school must, by law, attend that school regularly. Regular school attendance for a child is a legal requirement of all parents/carers.

There will be occasions when a child has to miss school, for example, if she or he is unwell, and parents/carers are expected to exercise their judgement on whether their child is fit to attend school if there are signs and symptoms of illness. Any other absences should be kept to an absolute minimum. In particular, parents/carers do not have the right to take their children out of school during term time in order to go on holiday.

Government regulations state that a headteacher ‘may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances’. The Hexham Partnership of Schools discourage parents/carers from arranging any events during term time and will, as a rule, state that leave of absence will not be granted unless there are exceptional circumstances that might justify it, e.g. forces personnel on leave from a foreign posting, or evidence provided by an
employer that states leave cannot be accommodated during school holidays without significant consequence.

A parent/carer requesting leave of absence during term time should make the application in writing at least two weeks in advance, either online or on paper. A leave of absence request form and the Hexham Partnership of Schools’ Policy for Leave of Absence during Term Time is available from the school office or can be downloaded via the links below.

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Please also read the policy: