Attendance Policy 2024 BL

BWMAT Attendance flow chart

Absence

Regular and punctual attendance is vital if a child is to progress at school. Children should be at school no later than 8.45am. Children can arrive in their classrooms from 8:40am. Children who arrive after the close of the register will be marked late.

Attendance is regular monitored by the schools attendance officer, Mrs Batten and the Head of School, Mr Dakin. Please see the attendance flow chart above.

Our County Attendance officer is in regular contact and will monitor these children.

Reporting Your Child’s Absence

If your child has an absence from school it must be reported to the school by telephoning the school on 01823 432 582 on each day of absence explaining the reason. This enables us to keep their records up to date and helps alleviate the fear of missing children.

If we have not heard from you, we will contact you to find out why your child is not in school. In the case of extended illnesses, please liaise with their class teacher who will arrange for work to be sent home. Following national legislation and county guidance, permission for absence other than illness or bereavement is only given in exceptional circumstance.

The Impact of Persistent Absences

“Being half an hour late to school each day from Year 1 to Year 10 is approximately equivalent to missing one year of schooling.”

Student Attendance and Educational Outcomes: Every Day Counts – Zubrick et al (2013)

“Poor attendance can disrupt a pupil’s learning and mean that they fall behind their peers in class. Persistent absence from school can put particular emphasis on this knowledge gap and place the pupil at a significant disadvantage academically. Pupils missing more than 10% of school due to unauthorised absences, have significantly lower odds of meeting the expected level at Key Stage 2 than pupils with no unauthorised absences.”

A profile of pupil absence in England, Department of Education.(2011)