Attendance and lateness is monitored regularly at Blackhall as we know the negative impact irregular attendance can have on a child’s progress in learning and social skills.
Open communication between home and school is key. Please let the school know in advance if it is a planned absence (e.g. appointment) or phone (0131 336 1023) no later than 9.30 a.m. on the day of your child’s unplanned absence (e.g. sickness bug).
You may receive a text message from the school office enquiring about your child’s absence if we haven’t heard from you.
Please make every effort to avoid family holidays during term time, as this will disrupt your child’s education and reduce learning time.
If your child is showing an attendance rating of 90% or less, you will receive a letter home as a reminder of the importance of coming to school every day. If the attendance continues to fall and reaches a level of 85% or below, the Educational Welfare Service is alerted and will contact you directly.
Headteachers can approve absences up to two school weeks (10 days) from school in certain situations. Any requests for extended absence for more than two school weeks (10 days) will be referred to the Senior Education Officer, who can then decide if it will be recorded as authorised or unauthorised leave.
Parents and Carers from minority ethnic religious communities may request permission for their children to be absent from school to celebrate recognised religious events. Absence approved on this basis is regarded as authorised absence. Extended leave can also be granted on request for families returning to their country of origin for cultural or care reasons.
We endeavour to adopt a supportive approach to unexplained absence. In extreme or persistent cases, however, The Communities and Families department has legal powers to interview or prosecute parents and can refer pupils to the Reporter of the Children’s Panel, if necessary.
We are here to help. Please let the school know if you are experiencing problems in getting your child to school so that we can work together to reach a positive outcome.
Blackhall Primary School 