Absences Requiring an Appointment Card or a Signed Note from Home

The following absences from school require an appointment card, a written note or an email from a parent/carer. Send to attendance@fortismere.org.uk and copy to your child's Form Tutor or hand in at South Wing/North Wing Reception, as soon as possible before the absence.

• Medical appointment such as hospital/orthodontist - half a day only
• Music exam - half a day only
• Language exam - half a day only
• Ballet exam - half a day only
• Local funerals - half a day only
• Religious festivals

It is expected that medical and dental appointments, with the exception of emergencies, are made outside of school hours.

The school must be notified of illness and emergencies on the day(s) of absence and this must be followed by a letter, handed to the Form Tutor, on the student's return to school.  To notify the school email attendance@fortismere.org.uk on each day of absence.

Request for Absence Outside of the Above List

Leave of Absence REQUEST form

If you need to request time off for your child during term time, for any reason other than those listed above, please complete the online leave of absence request form (see button above).  To complete the request form you will need access to your child's SIMS record to find their current attendance percentage. Paper copies of the Form can also be collected from either the South Wing Office or North Wing Office.

Requests for a leave of absence should be made as far in advance as possible to allow the request sufficient time to be processed through our system.

Process

1. Complete the Request Form and include the attendance percentage on your child’s SIMS record.
2. The Form is passed to the Headteacher who decides whether to agree your request or not.
3. You will then be notified of the outcome of your request via an email from the school attendance officer.

Please note that generally an authorised leave of absence will only be considered for students with attendance of 97% or more.

It is school policy (except in exceptional circumstances) that we will not authorise a leave of absence to take students out of school for a holiday, trip or any other purpose during term-time. This is to ensure continuity of teaching and learning for all students. We always take into account the effect an absence would have on a student's education and their ability to progress and achieve. Any previous absence will also be taken into account.

If a leave of absence is authorised by the school then failure to return to school on the specified date will result in those days being treated as unauthorised absence and may result in the issue of a fixed penalty notice or prosecution in accordance with section 444 of the 1996 Education Act.