Attendance
ATTENDANCE
Make Everyday Matter at Bunbury Aldersey CE Primary School
Bunbury Aldersey Primary School is committed to providing the best educational experience for all children and good attendance and punctuality is critical to this outcome.
Each academic year has 190 school days, this leaves 175 non-school days for family time, holidays, visits and appointments.
If a pupil is absent for just 1 day each term that equals 6 days or 39 hours a year of lost learning.
Every Day Counts!
It is vital that pupils attend school, on time, every day in order to gain the greatest benefit from their education.
Bunbury CE Primary School promotes the view that regular attendance is important to ensure the best possible learning outcomes for all of our children.
As a distinctly Christian school we will promote positive behaviour and good attendance through our use of daily collective acts of worship, Religious Education, the curriculum and a wide range of learning materials.
All children should be at school, on time, every day the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. All children are sometimes reluctant to attend school. Any problems that arise with attendance are best resolved between the school, the parents/carers and the child.
School opens at 8:30am and the school gates close at 8:45am. All children are expected to be in their class by 8:50 am.
School closes at 3:15pm for all pupils
We expect pupils to arrive and to be collected punctually at the start and end of each day.
Senior Leaders in school monitor attendance carefully and regularly. If persistent absence and/or lateness are identified, contact will be made with parents to make them aware of the issue and discuss ways that this can be improved. Please read our attendance policy for further details.
Absence
If your child is significantly unwell and unable to attend school, we request that parents/carers telephone the school office on each and every day of the absence, before 8.30am and clearly state the reason for their absence.
Diarrhoea, sickness, childhood illnesses e.g. measles, chicken pox, extremely high temperatures, are genuine illnesses. Children should not stay home if they have minor coughs, colds, tummy aches and headaches. If your child is too poorly to remain at the school, the school will contact you to collect them.
Where possible, we ask that routine medical/dental appointments are arranged outside of the school day.
Where this is not possible, please bring the appointment letter/card to the school office in advance.
Authorised Absence - where the school approves pupil absence.
These absences may include sickness, hospital, emergency dentist/medical appointments and religious holidays.
Under the provisions of the Education Act 1993 only the school and not the Parent(s)/Carer(s) can authorise absence.
A pupil is deemed to have an authorised absence when he/she is unable to attend either because:
- He/she is ill
- Of a religious observance
- Of a bereavement or some exceptional circumstances negotiated with the Principal
Requests for holiday
There is no automatic entitlement, in law, to time off during term time.
All requests for a leave of absence must be, by law, made in writing and in advance. As a school, we request parents use the ‘Absence Request Form’ which is available from the school office. Absence requests are only authorised in exceptional circumstances. If you choose to remove your child from school when the request has been denied it will be recorded as unauthorised and the school may request the Local Authority issue a penalty notice.
Lateness
Children who are late are disrupting not only their own education but also that of others.
The school gate opens at 8.30am to allow children to prepare for the start of the day. School begins at 8.50 am and all children are expected to be in their classroom for registration at this time. Any child arriving later than 8.45 am (when the gate is locked), should enter via the main entrance, and report to the office and their Parent(s)/Carer(s) should fill in the "Late Book" and it will be noted that the gate was locked.
Anyone arriving after 8.50 am will be given a late mark. Registers close in the office at 9.30am, anyone arriving after this time will be marked at unauthorised unless a medical reason is provided.
DID YOU KNOW…
…that 2 weeks absent from school brings a child’s attendance down to 87%
…a child who is absent a day of school per week misses an equivalent of two years of their school life
HAVE YOU EVER…
- Arrived to a movie when it has already started?
- Turned up at a party late?
- Come to a gym class when everyone has got the routine?
- Walked into a meeting late?
Just take a minute to think about how that feels… you feel like you don’t know what’s going on, you are playing catch up, your colleagues/friends are discussing ideas and plans you were not part of arranging. This feeling is the same for your child when they arrive even 10 minutes late for school. Friends have formed groups to work in and are busy discussing ideas and being on task. They have missed the very important lesson input and they are playing ‘catch up’ academically and socially.
Why is it so important, its only the odd day…What could happen?
- they can fall behind in work
- affect their motivation and their enjoyment of learning
- lead to poor behaviour
- affect their confidence
- mean they miss out on the social life of school and extra curricular opportunities and experiences
- affect their ability to have or keep friendships.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/