Attendance

Appointments
Please ensure that any appointments during the school day, for which you need to take your daughter out of school, are noted in your daughter's planner (diary) and signed by yourself so that the teacher can excuse her from class and the pastoral Heads of Year can sign her out.

We ask parents to email attendance@readinggirlsschool.net with the appointment reason, time and appointment card or letter.

It is your daughter's responsibility to ask to leave class at the appropriate time, showing the note in her planner to the teacher as evidence and making her way to the pastoral office to be signed out.

Absence
To report an absence please call the school on 0118 986 1336 and press option 1 before 8am on the first day of absence and leave a message or preferably please email attendance@readinggirlsschool.net
Subsequent days of illness, also require an email or phone call, with evidence of medical appointments.

Lates
Please ensure your daughter is in school by 8.25am daily, before the school gates close. Pupils arriving after this time will be given late detentions.

Holiday
We kindly request that you take family holidays during the school holidays, as time taken during term time will be unauthorised and could lead to fines. Please refer to the school website and Attendance Policy.

Leave of Absence in Term Time

1. Section 444A Education Act 1996 empowers designated Local Authority (LA) officers, Head Teachers (and Deputy and Assistant Head Teachers authorised by them) and the Police to issue Penalty Notices in cases of unauthorised absence from school.
2. The Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006 as amended by The Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2013 sets out requirements in respect of leave of absence in term time.
3. No parent can demand leave of absence as a right.
4. Any request for leave of absence must be made in advance.
5. The request for leave of absence should be made by the parent /carer who is taking the child out of school / academy, the full name and address of all parents /carers of the child should be provided on the form.
6. There is no requirement to authorise the leave of absence just because a request has been made.
The amendments under The Education (Penalty Notice) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 make it clear that head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances*.
*See Code of Conduct /Guidance relating to Leave of Absence
7. The circumstances of each individual request for leave of absence will be taken into account on a case-by-case basis.
8. The decision to approve / not approve the request is for the school / academy, not the Authority or the parent. Only schools / academies can authorise / not authorise absence.
9. If important work has been missed by the pupil due to the parents making a request for leave of absence the parents should not expect special arrangements to be made by the school/ academy for that pupil to catch up that work.

Penalty Notices are requested from schools and issued by the Local Authority to the parents/carers of statutory school age children, and can be issued per parent, per child. For example: 3 siblings absent for leave of absence in term time could result in each parent/ carer receiving 3 separate fines at the below rates.

First offence - The first time a Penalty Notice is issued the amount will be: £80 per parent, per child paid within 21 days. This fine increases to £160 per parent, per child if paid after day 21, until day 28.
Second Offence (within 3 years) - the second time a Penalty Notice is issued the amount will be £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days.
Third Offence and Any Further Offences (within 3 years) - the third time an offence is committed a Penalty Notice will not be issued, and the case may be presented straight to the Magistrates’ Court under s.444 of the Education Act (1996) or other legal interventions considered. The Magistrates’ Court can order fines up to £2500 per parent, per child.

Failure to pay a Penalty Notice will render you liable to criminal proceedings in the Magistrates Court under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996.

Every Day Counts - An Attendance Guide for Parents and Students

Research has shown that regular attendance and good punctuality are crucial factors in students achieving their full potential at school. Reading Girls’ School (RGS) works with parents, carers and the Education Welfare Service to ensure regular attendance and punctuality. This is vital to continue to raise standards at the school. We wish to work in partnership with parents and carers, so are seeking your full support in ensuring your daughter attends school every day, on time. We are always pleased to work together with parents/carers in resolving any difficulties and are committed to improving attendance levels at school.

The target attendance figure for all students is a minimum of 98% attendance.