Absence notification

Keeping your son or daughter safe is one of the prime objectives of Ripon Grammar School.

If your son or daughter is absent from school without reason or notification we will contact you as a matter of urgency.  However, the vast majority of absences are known about either on the day or in advance, and the procedure to follow is shown below:

1. If your child is unable to attend school due to illness, on each day of the illness please contact our absence team on absence@ripongrammar.com or telephone reception to inform Mrs Kinread on 01765 602647 before 9am.

If the school does not receive a telephone call or email by this time, and the absence is unexplained, a member of the school’s administration team will either send a text message to the main contact’s mobile telephone, or telephone you during the morning, either at home, work or to a mobile telephone number.

2. If your child is off school for more than two days, a member of the school’s administration team may contact you to enquire about their health and potential date of return. The absence can then be authorised on the school’s management information system.

3. When your child is well enough to return to school, please could you provide them with a letter outlining the reason for their absence; this should be addressed to Mrs Kinread and handed into reception. Concerns are raised when any student’s attendance falls below 90%, and any documentation you are able to furnish us with is most useful to assist with queries from NYC. 

Long term absence

A potential long term absence (eg. an operation) should be discussed with your son or daughter’s head of school. The school will aim to provide your son or daughter with appropriate work during their absence and make arrangements for their return to school.

Late arrivals

Students who are late arriving and students who miss either morning or afternoon registration must sign the late book in reception. This will ensure that we have an accurate record of who is present in school and will reduce the need to contact parents with regard to unexplained absences.

In the event of your child being absent from registration, if we have not been informed, you will receive notification in the form of a text message. 

Medical and dental appointments

Routine medical and dental appointments should be made outside school hours or in school holidays. If this is unavoidable then please email, telephone or write to Mrs Kinread in advance by email at absence@ripongrammar.com

Please do not advise school via a note in their planner. Students should sign out at reception when leaving for appointments and sign back in when they return. 

Please note also that the procedures for punctuality, attendance and illness are described in your son or daughter’s school planner. These include procedures for late arrival into school, and procedures to follow should you wish to request for your son or daughter to be absent from school during term time.

Request for absence during term time

The Department for Education states that parents do not have a right to take their children out of educational provision during term-time. Therefore the Headteacher cannot allow any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances, for which verification will be requested. This means that holidays in term time will not be authorised and will be recorded as an unauthorised absence.

An application form for parents to complete and return to the headmaster, should leave of absence during term time be requested, is available to download as pdf or download as Word from the school website. Please email this directly to the headmaster's PA, Mrs Hargraves, at hargravesp@ripongrammar.com

Your request will then be considered in line with the DfE guidelines for absence from school.

Thank you for your cooperation. However, we are sure you will appreciate that this is in the best interest of all students, and it will also help the school to manage its record of student attendance.

Ripon Grammar School enjoys exceptionally high attendance rates, which reflect the students’ enjoyment of coming to school.