From Monday 13th October 2025, all absences must be reported by telephone rather than in writing or on the website. The old telephone message system / online reporting forms will no longer be available and telephone reporting will be the only method accepted.
This change is to help us process your absence information more efficiently as well ensuring that when an absence is reported we can be confident the message is from the responsible adult. This will help us to safeguard students more effectively.
To report an absence, please call 0116 264 1080 and follow the push-button options to leave a message. The new process is due to us changing over to an automated system on Arbor. More information has been sent to you by email.
When leaving your message, please include:
- Your child’s full name
- Your child’s year group
- The reason for the absence (If your child is unwell, please specify the nature of the illness — e.g. flu symptoms)
- If your child will be in for part of a day, please leave this information also (ie. x will be at the doctors from 9-11)
Please note you will still need to ring everyday for the period of the absence.
Reporting Planned Absence
The system can accommodate planned absence such as known hospital appointments etc. In situations such as this please be clear on the dates of absence as well as the times.
Reporting infectious or contagious diseases
If your child becomes unwell with an infectious or contagious disease such as Chicken Pox, Measles, Shingles please report this to us as soon as possible using the form below.
Please ensure that you also report your child’s absence on the Absence Reporting Form too, this can be found above.
Reporting infectious diseases helps us to prevent the spread of infections it also means that we can support some of our students who are particularly vulnerable to infections.
Infectious Disease Reporting Form
Please note that although Shingles and Chicken Pox is not listed as a reportable disease it is still helpful for us to know so that we can make any vulnerable students or staff aware of this.
Leave of Absence
Parents/carers are strongly advised to avoid taking their children on holiday during term time. Requests during term time will not be authorised, time lost from education has a negative impact on student progress and achievement.
In exceptional circumstances written requests for extended leave should be made in advance to the Headteacher. Retrospective requests will not be considered and therefore will result in the absence being categorised as unauthorised.
All requests for Exceptional Leave must be requested in advance by completing the
Exceptional Leave request form. Paper copies can be provided on request.
All requests will be responded to in writing.
If the permission to take leave is not granted the absence will be
If the permission to take leave is not granted the absence will be unauthorised, this will leave to a referral to the local authority attendance team and a penalty charge will be issued.
With the introduction of the new National Framework for Penalty Notices, the following changes will come into force for unauthorised absences that occur after 19th August 2024.
5 Consecutive Days of Term Time Leave
Penalty Notice fines will be issued for term time leave of 5 or more consecutive days, and for fewer days where this has happened before.
10 Sessions of Unauthorised Absence in a 10-week period
Penalty Notice fines will be considered when there have been 10 sessions of absence in a 10-week period.
Per Parent, Per Child
Penalty Notice fines will be issued to each parent, for each child who was absent.
For example: 3 siblings absent for term time leave will result in each parent receiving 3 separate fines.
First Offence
The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for Term Time Leave or irregular attendance the amount will be £160 per parent, per child when paid within 28 days. Reduced to £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days,
Second Offence (Within 3 Years)
The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for Term Time Leave or irregular attendance the amount will be 160 per parent, per child when paid within 28 days (No option to pay £80 level)
Third Offence and Any Further offences (Within 3 Years)
The third time an offence is committed for Term Time Leave or irregular attendance a Penalty Notice will not be issued. The case will proceed to the Magistrates’ Court. Magistrate’s fines can be up to £2,500 per parent per child.
Arbor notifications for students absence without reason
As we continually review and improve our attendance we have made the decision to contact parents and carers of those students who are absent each morning by utilising the Arbor App rather than text messages. Calls will still be made if there is no response to the message sent.
Please ensure that you have enabled the push notifications so that you are alerted to these on your phone. If you haven’t already enabled the notifications here is how to do it:
Instructions
iPhone (iOS)
- Open the Settings app: Locate and tap the Settings app on your iPhone’s home screen.
- Go to Notifications: Scroll down and tap Notifications. This will bring up a list of all apps on your device.
- Select the app: Find the Arbor app you want to enable notifications for and tap on it. If the app is not listed, make sure the app is installed and running on your phone.
- Enable Notifications: At the top of the screen, toggle the switch to ON next to Allow Notifications.
- Customise Notifications (Optional): You can choose how you want the notifications to appear by customising options like: Lock Screen: Whether to show notifications on the lock screen. Banners: How you want the banners to appear (temporary or persistent). Sounds: If you want a sound to play when you receive a notification. Badges: Whether you want an app badge on the app icon. Show Previews: Decide whether you want to show message previews.
- Done: Once you’ve customized the settings, you can exit the settings. The app will now send you notifications based on your preferences.
Samsung (Android)
- Open the Settings app: Swipe down from the top of the screen to access the quick settings menu and tap the gear icon to open Settings. Alternatively, find the Settings app in the Apps screen.
- Go to Apps: Scroll down and tap on Apps (or Applications depending on the model).
- Select the app: From the list of apps, tap on the app you want to enable notifications for.
- Go to Notifications: Once you’re in the app settings, tap on Notifications.
- Enable Notifications: Toggle the switch to ON or make sure the notifications for that app are allowed. You may see options like: Show Notifications: Ensure this is toggled on. Notification Categories: You might see different types of notifications (e.g., “Chats,” “Updates”) that you can enable or customize individually.
- Customize Notifications (Optional): Depending on your model and Android version, you may also have options to:Set different sound or vibration preferences.Choose how the notifications appear (lock screen, pop-up, etc.).Enable or disable specific types of notifications (e.g., high-priority, silent).
- Done: Once you’ve set it up, you can exit the settings, and you’ll receive notifications from the app as per your selected preferences.