Attendance

Good attendance is a critical factor in a student’s success at school.

Contact details:

Contact email address: attendance@friern.barnet.sch.uk

Attendance Telephone number: 020 8368 2777 press 1 to report a student absence.

Students must arrive at school by 8.30am. The register will be called promptly at 8.40am.

Reporting Absence

Most students will occasionally be absent from school with good reason. Parents should telephone/email the school and leave a clear message stating child’s name/year/reason on the absence answer phone before 8.15am on the first day of absence.

Please contact us by 8.15am every day that you child is absent by telephone or by email concerning the absence to attendance@friern.barnet.sch.uk

On the rare occasion where a parent has not contacted the school the school will attempt to make contact with them. Contact will usually be made using the school text messaging system.

Lateness

Students arriving after 9:00am will go directly to Student Services to sign in before receiving a late slip.
Arrivals after 9:00am will be classed as unauthorised absences and six in a four week period will result in a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) being issued.

Persistent lateness will be monitored closely and followed up with individual families.

When an absence has not been notified

The school has a system in place to alert parents/carers when a student is absent from school, but when there has not been prior notification of the absence. This means that parents will be contacted by telephone, email or text when a student is absent and no explanation for the absence has been received.

If we are concerned about aspects of your child’s attendance or punctuality, we will contact you to discuss the best way forward. Every child’s attendance is monitored regularly.

Medical Appointments

Orthodontists and other medical professionals should be able to accommodate appointments outside school hours. Please aim for either early morning or late afternoon appointments. This will ensure that your child is able to complete at least a portion of their school day, and it minimises the impact of their absence on their progress. Let Student Services have a copy of your appointment card/letter/text. Students must sign out at Students Services before they can leave the school site. 

Monitoring your child’s attendance on Firefly

To help you keep track of your child /children’s attendance, you can monitor attendance, lates, authorised and unauthorised absences on Firefly.

Holidays and Leave of Absence

• Parents do not have the right to take their child out of school for holidays in term time. Should you feel that there are exceptional circumstances that require you to take your child out of school during term time, it will be necessary to seek permission from the school. 
• If Leave of Absence is granted, the absence is recorded as Authorised. Since September 2013, the government has viewed absences for holidays as Unauthorised
• If the school refuses a request for term time Leave of Absence and the child is still taken out of school anyway, this will be recorded as an Unauthorised Absence on the child’s attendance record and school report, and a Penalty Notice may be issued

A paper copy of the leave of absence form can be picked up from the Main Office or Student Services. If you would like it printed off in bigger font, please contact the main office on 020 83682777 or email school@friern.barnet.sch.uk

Please click on the link below to download the form: