Pupil Absence

To report an absence please see the reporting absence section on EduLink.

Our vision is for Willowfield students to leave us and be able to compete with anyone, anywhere, professionally and personally, in the world that is their future. We want our young people to become well rounded young adults and great citizens able to play a full, positive and productive part in their 21st century world. Regular attendance at school is vital if a young person is to achieve this and reach their potential. There is a direct link between attendance at school and student progress and achievement. 

• We have the highest expectations of all students and expect every student to achieve 100% attendance. 
• We will work tirelessly to promote good attendance and reduce absence, including persistent absence, 
• ensuring every student has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled. 
• We will intervene as early as possible to address patterns of absence. 
• We will work with, support, and where necessary, challenge parents and carers to discharge their legal 
• duty to ensure their children of compulsory school age attend regularly

Parents & Carers

We expect parents and carers to:

• ensure that their child arrives at the school on time, in the correct uniform and with the necessary 
• equipment
• promote the importance of regular attendance at home
• follow the correct procedure for reporting the absence of their child from the school (see section 6.1 
• below)
• avoid unnecessary absences 
• keep the school informed of any circumstances which may affect their child’s attendance
• not take their child out of education for holidays during term time (see section 6.3 below)
• inform the school in advance of any proposed change of address for their child(ren), along with the name 
• of the parent with whom the child shall live
• observe and fulfil their responsibilities set out in the guidance issued by the Department for Education: 
• Summary table of responsibilities for school attendance (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Students

We expect students:

• attend the school regularly and on time 
• be punctual to all lessons
• follow the correct procedure if they arrive to the school late (see sections 4 and 5 of the attendance policy below).

Reporting Absence

It is the parents' responsibility to contact the school on the first day that their child is absent and let the school know when they expect the student to return. The parent should give the name of their child, their tutor group and the reason absence. This can be done by:

Signing in to EduLink to report your child’s absence (Click Here)

On the day of return to the school, parents must also provide written confirmation of the reason(s) for the full period of absence. 

In cases of prolonged absence due to illness, the parents/cares may be asked to provide the school with medical evidence, such as a note from the child’s doctor. If this evidence is not provided, the absence may be marked as unauthorised. 

Click here to read the full attendance policy.

Unavoidable Absences

We strongly encourage parents to avoid taking children out of school during term time to minimise disruptions to their education. However, if leave is unavoidable, a formal request must be submitted for approval by the Headteacher. All leave of absence requests for time away from school during term time must now be submitted using the following digital form:

Request for Leave of Absence from school during term time (Click Here)