Good attendance at school is essential for children to make good progress and to achieve the standards expected for their age range (96% is the nationally expected level of attendance). At Brunswick we promote good attendance in assemblies and reward 100% attendance at the end of the year. We also provide achievement medals for the class with the highest annual attendance across the school. School staff work to support families and liaise regularly with medical professionals to support pupils who have medical issues that impact upon their attendance.
Schools are required to keep records of all late arrivals and absences, this data is submitted to the local authority and is monitored by Ofsted. The School Administrators monitor our pupils’ attendance and chase up reasons for any absences. Pupils with poor attendance are tracked and their parents are requested to attend review meetings. Each term all parents receive a copy of their child’s attendance profile. If a leave of absence is absolutely necessary during term time you will need to ask the Headteacher and Governors for permission. Please contact the school for additional guidance if required.
93.94% Attendance for Sept 2019 - May 2020 (Low absence due to COVID)
Current Attendance Autumn 2020 Sept - 11th Dec 2020 96.43% (This figure include Nursery and is very positive considering the Pandemic!)
ABSENCE:If your child is absent from school for any reason please ring the school office on 01768 213200 as soon as possible, you can always leave a message on the answer machine if you ring outside of normal office hours - 8.30 - 3.30. It is important that we know why your child is not attending school as otherwise the absence will be recorded as "unauthorised". The school office staff will chase up reasons for absence so that we can record this on our electronic registers. If families are in need of support we can also offer help and advice in order to help get children back into school as soon as possible.
INFORMING THE SCHOOL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOUR CHILD WILL BE ABSENT IS VERY IMPORTANT DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC AS IT ALLOWS US TO TAKE SWIFT ACTION IF WE HAVE ANY CONFIRMED OR SUSPECTED CASES.
APPOINTMENTS: If your child has a dental, or medical appointment it would be much appreciated if where possible appointments are made either during lunch time or after the end of the school day. You should let your child's teacher, or the school office, know if you are collecting your child for an appointment during the day. If you are taking your child out of school you must sign them out and then back in again on their return.
ABSENCES IN TERM TIME: Parents are encouraged to take their child on holiday during the school holidays. Holidays in term time are not authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances that require the family to take their child/ren out of school. Forms for parents to complete - requesting a leave of absence for their child/ren are available from the school office and should be returned to the headteacher for consideration.
Holidays in school time may be less expensive BUT ... Your Child's Education is Priceless!
The Law
The law says that parents do not have the right to take their child out of school for holidays during term-time.
In exceptional circumstances however, schools can allow parents to take their child out of class for up to ten days in a school year.
If you take a holiday without the school's permission or if the child fails to return on the agreed date this will be recorded as unauthorised absence (truancy) and noted on the child's Attendance Record.
School's Decision
When deciding whether to allow term-time leave, the school will consider:-
We recognise that it is more expensive to take a holiday during school breaks, and that is why some parents may ask for term-time leave for their child. However, this is not categorised as an exceptional circumstance.
There are only 190 statutory school days in one year. There are 175 days (weekends and school holidays) available to use for holidays, which would not have a negative effect on your child's education.
Every school day counts!
Parent/Guardian Decision
What you need to consider:-
There are times during a school year when a child may experience particular problems because of term-time leave such as:-
* Disadvantages if close to assessments or tests, for example reception and nursery baseline assessments at the start of the year, SATs in Year 2 and in Year 1 phonics screening in June.
* Settling in problems during the first weeks of a new school year.
* Children who need help in certain subjects need to access all the educational support that is offered.
* Some children may find it difficult to renew friendships with their classmates when they return to school.
* Your child may miss out on valuable group work with classmates that cannot be repeated.
* It could embarrass and lower your child?s self-esteem to have to ask for help to catch up.
* Missing Induction,Transition and Celebration Activities such as The Leavers Service.
* Please consider the unspoken message you are giving your child, by letting them think it is acceptable to miss school. Some young people with severe truancy problems have said that it all started when they had a week or two off school for a holiday.
If it is absolutely unavoidable
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Ofsted January 2018 “Senior leaders strive to reduce absence, for example by stressing the importance of regular attendance in assemblies and via newsletters. Consequently, current attendance is now in line with the national average.” |