Reporting Your Child Absent

You can report your child's absence by contacting us via parentsportal.scot app, by emailing lhsabsence@education.falkirk.sch.uk or calling our absence line (24/7) on (01324) 554233, selecting option 1. If the absence hasn't been reported by 9am, you'll receive an attendance group call alert. Please reply to this message to confirm awareness of the absence.

It is the responsibility of parents of a child of school age to make sure that their child is educated. Most do this by sending their child to school regularly. Absence from school is recorded as authorised (approved by the education authority) or as unauthorised (unexplained by the parent - truancy).

Please let the school know by letter or phone if your child is likely to be absent for some time, and give your child a note on his or her return to school, confirming the reason for absence. If there is no explanation from a child’s parents / carers, the absence will be regarded as unauthorised.

Please make every effort to avoid family holidays during term time as this disrupts your child’s education and reduces learning time. The head teacher can approve absence from school for a family holiday in certain extreme situations for example, in traumatic domestic circumstances where the holiday would improve the cohesion and wellbeing of the family. Please discuss your plans with the head teacher before the holiday. If the head teacher does not give permission before the holiday, it will be recorded as unauthorised absence. The head teacher may also exercise discretion when a parent can prove that work commitments make a family holiday impossible during school holiday times. Normally, your employer will need to provide evidence of your work commitments. Absence approved by the head teacher on this basis is regarded as authorised absence.

Parents from minority ethnic religious communities may request that their children be permitted to be absent from school to celebrate recognised religious events. Absence approved by the head teacher on this basis is regarded as authorised absence. Extended leave can also be granted on request for families returning to their country of origin for cultural or care reasons.

A supportive approach is taken to unexplained absence. However the education authority has legal powers to write to, interview or prosecute parents, or refer pupils to the Reporter to the Children’s Panel, if necessary.

When it is realised that a child is likely to be off school for any length of time, it would be helpful if parents would telephone the school on 01324 554233 to explain this. Should your child fail to arrive at school in the morning you will be notified by text message at around 9.30am by our automated absence alert system. if you do not use a mobile phone, we can contact you with a voice message. However, when parents inform us in advance of an absence, text messages will not be sent.

Requests, Compliments and Complaints

School Admissions and Placing Requests

For more information on admissions please see the Falkirk Council School Admissions page.

Guidance on making placing requests can be found at the Falkirk Council School Placing Requests page.

Placing Requests

As a parent, you have the right to make a Placing Request for your child(ren) to be educated in a school other than the local school. Applications for Primary 1 and Secondary 1 Placing Requests to commence school in August will only be accepted from the first Thursday in December.

Every effort will be made to try to meet parental wishes, but you should note that it is not always possible to grant every Placing Request. You should also note that a successful Placing Request for one child does not guarantee a successful one for another child. A parent could, therefore, end up with children attending different schools.

Primary 1 children must also be enrolled at the catchment area school on the appropriate Enrolment Form whilst awaiting the outcome of their Placing Request Application. If the Placing Request is granted, the child’s enrolment at the catchment school will automatically be withdrawn by Children’s Services.

Placing Requests can only be approved when there are sufficient places remaining in the class after all catchment area children have enrolled and if staffing and accommodation at the school are able to meet the numbers of Placing Requests at that school. Children’s Services will also reserve places in a class for catchment pupils they expect to move into the area during the school year.

If more Placing Requests are made for admission to a particular school than places available, these Requests will be prioritised according to Falkirk Council’s Admissions Policy and requests accepted and refused accordingly.

If you wish to make a Placing Request, you should complete the appropriate application form (one for each child involved) and return it to Forward Planning Section, Children’s Services, Sealock House, 2 Inchrya Road, Grangemouth, FK3 9XB. This Form must be completed by the child’s Parent/carer. Placing Requests for Primary 1 and Secondary 1, commencing in the next school session should be made by the 15th of March each year for consideration. Responses will be issued no later than 30th April.

Your Placing Request will be considered against a set of criteria which is set out in the Council’s priorities for admission.

Any Placing Requests received after the 15th March for Primary 1 and Secondary 1 will not be considered in the first round of Placing Requests. Parents / Carers will be notified of the outcome of their request within 8 weeks of receipt.

As soon as a decision has been made, you will be notified of the result. If your Placing Request is successful, you will be asked to contact the school to establish arrangements for enrolment.

Placing Request Forms are available from the Forward Planning Section, Children’s Services at Sealock House, all schools, Libraries, One-Stop Shops and on the Falkirk Council website.

Mid-Session Transfers

You may make a Placing Request at any time during a school session. If your child is experiencing problems at school, you are advised to discuss the matter with the Head Teacher prior to making a Placing Request. Completing the Application Form does not guarantee a place for your child at your chosen school. Your Placing Request will only be granted if there are surplus places available at the school.

Transport for Placing Requests

If a Placing Request is successful, parents will be responsible for the safety and transportation costs of their child to and from their chosen school.

Compliments, Suggestions and Complaints Procedure

Falkirk Council Children’s Services are keen that you should be completely satisfied about your child's education and we encourage feedback on our services from parents, pupils and members of the public. We are interested in feedback of all kinds, whether it be compliments, suggestions or complaints. Compliments and suggestions can be giving to schools by writing, by email, telephone or in person.

If you have a complaint about the school, please let us know. It is better that concerns are shared openly and resolved quickly, rather than being allowed to damage the relationship between home and school. We will deal with the issue confidentially and as quickly as possible. If we have made a mistake we will apologise and try to put things right.

There are some things which you should take note of in relation to making a complaint:

- Parents must first consult the school regarding their complaint. Although we try to respond as quickly as possible, issues can sometimes be complex and the school may need time to investigate them.

- The Council’s complaints handling procedure sets a time limit for making a complaint of six months from when the customer first knew of the problem.

- If your complaint has not been satisfactorily resolved by the school, it may be eligible for consideration at the second stage (by Children’s Services). Complaints will not be considered by Children’s Services unless they have been thoroughly considered by the headteacher.

- If you remain dissatisfied after this further investigation, you can raise the matter with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

- You should also be aware that you have the right to raise concerns with your local Councillor, MSP or MP.

- You can find out more about the Council’s Complaint Procedure from the Falkirk Council website.

Communication with Parents

At Larbert High School we have several methods of communicating with parents.

Twitter - LHS Twitter account for updates, announcements, successes and achievements.

App - We have our own app which can be downloaded for updates and notifications straight to your smartphone.

Letters - At LHS as well as sending letters home we upload most of the letters sent home to our website where parents can download them.

Parent Evenings - Visit this section of the website for information on upcoming parent evenings.

Email - Often letters and communications are sent to parents via email, as such it is essential we have an up to date email address for parents.

Parent Council

Parents are welcomed to be: involved with their child’s education and learning; be active participants in the life of the school; and express their views on school education generally and work in partnership with the school. Find out more about our Parent Council here.

More Ways to Get in Touch

Download Our App

Our App is now live in the Apple and Google Play Stores. The LHS App allows you to keep in touch with our events, news and receive important messages from us directly to your smartphone or device!

To download the app simply visit the Apple or Google Play Stores on your device and search for Larbert High School. Alternatively you can click the links below.

iPhone - Download from Apple App Store

Android - Download from Google Play