Absence

Parents are asked to phone the school before the school day begins at 8.55am or leave a voicemail if outside of school hours to explain the reason of their child's absence.  If the school office does not receive a telephone call or email to explain a child's absence then the absence has to be recorded as unauthorised and will appear as such on your child's school record.

The School Administrator will make telephone calls to the parents of every child who is marked as absent once the register closes in a morning.  Should the school receive no response from either parent and the child is absent a second consecutive day the school will once again call both parents once the registers have closed.  If there is still no response then the DSL and a DDSL will make a home visit to check that the child is safe.  If no one is at home then a Missing in Education form will be completed and submitted to the local authority.  It is our duty to ensure that all pupils at Ringstead remain safe even when absent from the school premises.  

Absence and punctuality is monitored on an ongoing basis, with letters being issued to parents every half term if a child's absence falls below 95%.  Attendance meetings are arranged for those families where absence is persistent - please see our Attendance Policy for further information of the stages for monitoring absence.