Raise parents’ and pupils’ awareness of the importance of regular attendance.
Regular attenders have an easier transfer to secondary school and into further education and the workplace.
Publishing our attendance rates regularly and inform you of your own child’s attendance percentage each term.
Authorised Absence: Some absences are allowed by law and are known as “authorised absences”. For example: if a child is ill, family bereavement, religious observance. We realise that there are rare occasions when there might be a particular problem that causes your child to be absent for a different reason. If you let us know, we will always respond sympathetically.
Where there is no explanation for the absence or where the explanation or reason for the absence is considered unsatisfactory.
Parents have a legal duty to ensure the regular and full time attendance at school of registered pupils (Education Act 1996). This policy is based on the law and on Best Practice guidance produced by the DFE. Please be aware that as a maintained school, we are obliged to return attendance details on all children to the LA and the DFE. If your child’s attendance is below 90%, you will be contacted by the Participation team, at the Local Authority who will review and support improving your child’s attendance at school. However, if unauthorised absences continue, despite this intervention, the LA has the right to prosecute (take to court) parents or issue a Fixed Penalty (fine). By working in a positive partnership with you and promoting good attendance, the leadership team at Bourne aims to render such legal action unnecessary.
Can you remember what it feels like to miss the start of something because you are late? It can disrupt the whole of your day. Children who arrive late to school, often miss out on learning because they have not heard an explanation or introduction. Please try to spare your child the discomfort of everyone else in class turning to look at them and feeling unsure of where to sit or what to do.
Morning registration is at 8.50am for all pupils and 8.40am for Nursery. Your child must be in their classroom by these times, so you need to ensure your child is coming through the school gate by 8.49am for all pupils or 8.39am (Nursery) at the latest.
It is important to be on time as the first few minutes of the school day are often used to give out instructions and important 'early bird' learning tasks are given.
If your child misses this short but vital session, their learning for the whole day may be affected. Late arrivals are disruptive to the whole class and often embarrassing for your child. At Bourne, we take the view there are no late children, only late parents.
Arrival after the close of registration, they may be marked as unauthorised absence in line with the DCSF guidance.
We will let you know if we have concerns about your child’s punctuality and try to work in partnership with you to resolve the problem.
Please be aware that parental punctuality extends to the collection of children as well as ensuring they arrive at school promptly. It can be extremely distressing for children, if a parent or carer does not arrive when everyone else’s does.
Obviously, we realise that accidents happen and sometimes a parent will be unavoidably detained. In these circumstances, please telephone us.
Children who remain uncollected after the end of school time will be taken to after-school club, for which there may be a charge.
We are always concerned about the amount of school time pupils’ miss as a result of family holidays. DFE guidelines which came into effect in September 2008 state that there is no entitlement to time off for holidays in term time.
Parents wishing to apply for leave of absence for term-time holidays need to write to the head teacher well in advance and before booking. Under current guidelines, holiday absence is almost invariably classed as an unauthorised absence and you may risk your child being taken off the school roll.
If the head teacher does not authorise the absence and you take your child on holiday, the absence will be unauthorised and you may be referred to the participation team and fined accordingly.
No applications for leave of absence will be authorised in years 2 and 6 or for the start of any academic year.
Parents should avoid taking a holiday in September, as it is very unsettling for a child to miss the start of the school year.
Please remember that the more time your child misses from school, the more difficult it is for them to catch up with their learning. Valuable learning time is lost. A good understanding of the learning can only take place when the pupil is in the classroom.
Give the school full information about their plans including date of move, new address or at least the town you will be moving to, new school and start date when known, and reasons for moving.
Take Bourne School’s address, so the new school can easily contact us and records be transferred.
Let us know when you actually move.
If you leave Bourne without giving us notification and the information requested above, the Department for Education will consider your child to be a Child Missing Education. This means that the Local Authority has a legal duty to carry out investigations, which will include liaising with Children’s Services, (formerly Social Services) the Police and other agencies, to try to track and locate your child. By giving us the above information, unnecessary investigations can be avoided. In conclusion, please support your child to attend school as regularly as possible for the best reason there is: it will help them make the most of their opportunities and improve their life chances.