Attendance
At Bayton CE Primary School we want all students to aim for 100% attendance. We set expectations of excellent attendance for all pupils and expect pupils to be in school every day that school is open unless they are too unwell to attend. This is really important so we can give your children the best education we can, and the education that they are entitled to.
Some pupils find it harder than others to attend school and we will work together with parents/carers, pupils and any relevant partners to remove any barriers getting in the way of pupils attending regularly. Pupils with medical conditions or other circumstances that may at times prevent regular attendance will be fully supported by our school, in partnership, where necessary, with any health or external professionals. Promoting and supporting excellent attendance is everybody’s business within our school and community.
By providing a calm, orderly, safe, and supportive school where all pupils want to be is important to us. We will work together with you as parents to explore and support any child who is finding it difficult to attend school regularly.
Why is Attending School Regularly So Important?
Excellent attendance is important for pupils to feel part of the school community and develop a sense of belonging. This supports each pupil’s all-round development, mental health, and well-being.
If attendance over the school year is: | …a pupil will miss this many days: | …and this many lessons: |
100% | 0 | 0 |
95% | 10 | 50 |
90% | 19 | 95 |
85% | 29 | 145 |
80% | 39 | 195 |
75% | 49 | 245 |
70% | 58 | 290 |
If your child is absent from school… | Please notify the school office each day of absence by 9:20am by telephone (leave a message if it is before 8:30am), via email or in person. Please note that this notification does not guarantee that the absence will be authorised. |
Procedure:
Scenario | Response |
If school has not been contacted by the parents/carers…. | The office will make contact by telephone. This will be recorded on the school ScholarPack system with the reason for absence |
Where a pupil returns to school following an absence and school has not received a written or verbal explanation… | Parents/carers will receive an email requesting the reason for absence |
After 2 days’ absence, where there has been no contact from parents/carers… | The pupil’s name will be referred to the Headteacher who will try to make contact with the parents/carers or any of the named contacts. It is vital that families provide school with 3 emergency contacts |
If no contact is made the above… | Staff will conduct a ‘safe and well’ home visit with another member of staff |
If no contact can be made… | A letter will be delivered by hand to the home address and where there are concerns the police may be asked to do a ‘welfare check.’ This will be reported to Children’s Services |
Should there be frequent absence due to illness… | •Headteacher and Assistant Headteacher alongside the EWO, will ask to meet parents and may ask for ‘supporting’ evidence, such as prescription/prescribed medication /appointment letter/letter from GP or consultant. If these are not provided the absence will be recorded as unauthorised |
•If a pupil is going to be absent from school for a long period of time due to illness or other authorised extenuating circumstances… | School will liaise with an Education Welfare Officer in order to best support the pupil |
If any member of staff is concerned about a reason for absence… | A member of the Senior Leadership Team or Safeguarding Team should be informed |
“Schools must record absence as authorised when it falls on a day that is exclusively set apart for religious observance by the parents’ religious body (not the parents)” ((Working together to improve school attendance, May 2022). | |
Absence Requests
Parents are requested to complete a Leave of Absence Request form for this from the school office. School will not authorise holidays during term time. | |
After 10 consecutive days’ absence… | We are required to report this on the Worcestershire Children’s Services Portal |
If a child is absent from school for longer than 20 days with no authorised reason… | In line with the Education Regulation Act (1996) the child’s name could be taken off roll |
Only in very, very exceptional circumstances will absence requests be authorised.
Unauthorised Absence
An absence will be unauthorised if your child is absent from school without the permission of the school. Whilst as parents you can provide explanations for absence, it remains the school’s decision whether to authorise an absence or not.
Unauthorised absences may include:
- Absences which have never been properly explained
- Pupils who arrive at school too late to get a mark
- Absences for shopping, birthdays, day trips, errands
- Absences whereby parents are stating they are waiting at home for a washing machine to be mended, or a parcel to be delivered
- Long weekends and holidays in term time (unless in very, very exceptional circumstances as agreed in advance by the school)
- If a pupil is kept away from school longer than has been agreed -any additional absence will be unauthorised
Unauthorised absences may result in the use of penalty notices or prosecution.
Support for School Attendance
Sometimes your child may not want to attend school. We encourage parents and pupils to be open and honest with us about the reasons for absence. If your child does not want to attend school, it is never better to cover up their absence or give in to pressure to let your child stay at home. This can give the impression to your child that attendance does not matter and can make things worse. As a school, we need to understand the reasons why your child may not want to attend school so we can support you and your child in the best way possible. Please speak to Mrs Paske or Mrs Smith if you need our support.
For pupils with medical conditions or other circumstances that may at times prevent regular attendance we will fully support each pupil to be able to attend as much as possible. Our school will use an individual health plan and will work alongside other relevant professionals such as health colleagues, and yourselves, to best support this.
If our school is unable to work in partnership with you as parents, we may refer to the Local Authority. We will only ever do this if everything else has failed. We hope as parents you will work with us to best support your child so this does not need to happen.
If our school has any safeguarding concerns about a pupil who is absent, we will share information with other agencies as we deem necessary to ensure a child’s safety and well-being.