Pupils Absent or Late

When your son/daughter is absent from school or will be late due to an appointment, missed bus etc. please report their absence by clicking on the button below:

Test Valley School has a duty to provide appropriate education for all students who attend. Parents/carers have a legal obligation to ensure that children receive an education by regular attendance at school.

Parents/carers must ensure that a reason for absence is reported to school every day.

• Complete the online absence form or call 01264 810555 and select ‘Option 1’ for the Pupil Absence Voicemail
• Complete the online absence form or call on each subsequent day of absence.
• For students who are late in, please complete the online absence form or call and ensure the student signs in at reception. 
• As a Safeguarding procedure we will text/email parents/carers requesting a phone call if a student does not register in the morning.
• A medical note is required from a registered Medical Practitioner upon regular or lengthy absence from school due to illness or surgery.
• For medical, dental or orthodontic appointments proof or evidence is required please email to absence@testvalley.hants.sch.uk or hand in to the school office 

Please note: If pupils arrive in school by 9.10am or leave after 1.40 pm their percentage attendance will not be affected.

Procedure for Pupils Leaving Premises

Pupils who need to leave the premises during the day for appointments need to come to Pupil Services to wait.  We would be most grateful for advance notice of the appointment and appointment slips would be appreciated where possible. Parents also need to come to Reception and sign them out.  We are legally bound to ensure we hand pupils over to a responsible adult during the school day.

Leave of Absence

Please view the Attendance and Punctuality policy here. You can also download the Leave of Absence application form.

Any absence that is not medical or due to illness must be covered by a Leave of Absence application.

At Test Valley School Leave of Absence in term time will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances. We will consider every application individually, but our policy is NOT to grant leave of absence during term-time.  Time off school for family holidays is not considered to be an entitlement.

Hampshire County Council recommends that no holidays are booked until approval from the school has been received.  Leave of Absence applications should be completed on a green request form available from Pupil Services or on the school website.  Forms should be submitted to Pupil Services at least 3 weeks in advance of the requested dates.  Please allow 5 working days for a response.

Please note that following revised Government guidelines in September 2013, a maximum of 5 days Leave of Absence can be approved, and supporting documentation may be required.

The law requires schools to be open for 190 days each year and every day is important.  This leaves 175 days for holidays.  Please help pupils not to miss any of their valuable time at school.  We publish the dates of school terms well in advance to help you plan your holidays. The ‘Key Dates for Parents’ are sent home during the last Summer half-term and are available on the website.

For all pupils' attendance should be over 96% for Leave of Absence to be approved.

If pupils in any year group are taken on leave without school approval it will be marked as unauthorised absence.

To request a leave of authorised absence, it can be done in a few ways:

• Online via our web form, you can find the link here.
• You can download the form from our website using the link below and submit it by email to absence@testvalley.hants.sch.uk.
• You can download the form using the link below and handing it to reception staff.