Bracebridge Infant and Nursery School
 
Attendance is a key priority for our school.  

It is important that our children are in school every day as it helps to establish good learning and daily routines.

The Staff and Trustees are fully committed to developing good attendance habits for all our pupils; the principle of regular attendance and good punctuality applies to all children. 

“Rise and shine and be on time

Beat the gate and don’t be late

Try to be here every day

Come to school to learn and play!”

Rationale

At Bracebridge Infant and Nursery School, we want to provide the best education for children. This can only be achieved by attending school every day and being on time. The progress that children make at school relies on strong attendance and being late to school is unsettling for children and disrupts the class at the start of the school day.

• Ensuring regular attendance is every parent’s legal responsibility. Permitting absence from school without good reason is against the law
• We know that good attendance is the key to successful schooling and our school target for the academic year is 95%.
• Your child should be at school, on time by 8:50 am every day (see note below) unless the reason for absence is unavoidable.
• For children under compulsory school age it is very important to introduce good attendance habits right from the start.

• Failing to attend school on a regular basis will be considered as a safeguarding matter and will be subject to schools attendance monitoring procedures

Parents Procedure For Reporting Absence

• If a child is absent from school for any reason, parents must contact the school by 9am on the first morning of absence and on subsequent days of absence. The school has a voicemail facility to ensure that parents can leave us a message
• If the child is off for more than 3 days due to illness, school have the right to request evidence of illness. This can include a screenshot of a text message about a doctor’s appointment or letter.
• If a child requires an authorised leave of absence for an emergency medical or hospital appointment (no more than 1 day), school will require a photocopy of the date and time of appointment before authorisation
• Any request for Leave of Absence must be completed in writing to the Headteacher at least 4 weeks in advance of the requested dates for absence and failure to do so will automatically result in the absence being unauthorised
• Should any parents fail to notify the school or follow the points above, then schools’ procedures will take place as detailed below accordingly

Schools Procedure For Monitoring Daily Absence

• If no reason for absence has been received to school by 9am, the school will telephone parents by 9:30am to ascertain the reason for absence.  It is essential that you answer our call.
• Should no one answer, two members of the school staff may make a home visit in order to see the child and parent to ensure that the child is safe; in line with government safeguarding procedures.
• Should school have further concerns or no response during a home visit, they then have a duty of care to refer to either the Police for a ‘Safe and Well’ check or Social Services for intervention.
• This procedure will be repeated for the duration of a child’s absence if no notification has been given to the school.

Target

Our aim is for the vast majority of learners to achieve an attendance rate of 95% or higher in an academic year. Our real target is to achieve better than this, because we know that good attendance is the key to successful schooling. Through the school year we monitor absences and punctuality to show us where improvements need to be made.

Aims

We recognise that…

• All pupils of statutory school age have an equal right to access an education in accordance with the National Curriculum regulations.
• No pupil should be deprived of the opportunity to access this education.
• In the first instance, it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure attendance at school as required by law.
• Some parents may need the support of the school in order to meet their attendance obligations.

• Situations beyond the control of the pupils and parents may impact on attendance. We will, with the agreement and support of the parents, work in partnership with external agencies to resolve these.
• Most children want to attend school to learn, socialise and prepare themselves for their future role in society.

Expectations

We expect the following from all our pupils:

• That they attend school regularly.
• That they arrive on time and appropriately prepared for the day.
• That they tell a member of staff about any problem or reason that may prevent them attending school.

Parents and pupils can expect the following from the school:

• Early contact with parents when a pupil fails to attend school without notification.
• Immediate and confidential support and action, on any problem notified to us.

How parents can help us:

• Follow the school’s Attendance Protocol and Procedures for absence or lateness.
• Ensure that their children attend school regularly and arrive on time.
• Contact the school immediately, whenever their child is absent, giving details of the reason for the absence and the length of time the child will be away.

• Help their child prepare for the school day and has everything needed for the day ahead.
• Attend Parents’ Evenings to discuss progress and talk to staff if there are any problems or changes of family circumstances which may affect the child’s attendance.
• Contact the school if problems arise which may keep their child away from school, so the school can help.

Encouraging Attendance 

Attendance can be encouraged in the following ways:

• Accurate completion of the register at the beginning of each session.
• Early identification and support of pupils and parents experiencing difficulties with attendance e.g. collecting the child from home.
• Celebrating classes with the best attendance each week.
• Focusing attendance for everyone via the Attendance Board.
• Rewarding individuals with a trophy for achieving attendance target at the end of the school year.