Attendance

If your child is unwell enough to not attend school, please tell us before 9 am by filling in the form below.

Absence Request Form

This form should also be used for requesting other leave of absence, for example, unavoidable appointments during school time, external exam attendance and other exceptional circumstances where you need to request your child does not attend school.

The target figure for all students is a minimum of 98% attendance. Good attendance is vital for students to make progress and succeed both at school and at work later on in their lives. Please help us to support your child attending school, by working closely with us to resolve any issues affecting your child's attendance. Please contact your child's tutor or Head of Year to discuss any issues or if you require any support or guidance. There are some leaflets in this section which you may also find useful.

We monitor students’ attendance closely using electronic registration and an automatic absence calling system, which calls the parent of any child not marked present each morning if we have not been notified in advance. Please ensure that you inform us when your child is absent otherwise it will be marked as 'unauthorised'. Where possible, please make routine medical and/or dental appointments outside of school hours and if a medical appointment is necessary, please provide some supporting evidence (where feasible) when reporting the absence.

Legislation from the Department for Education makes it clear that a Headteacher may not grant any leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. If you need to request a leave of absence in term time, please contact admin office by email (admin@testbourne.school) to request a link to the electronic form.

Information on Penalty Notices for Non-Attendance at School

Good School Attendance Guide

TCS Attendance Leaflet