BRYMORE ACADEMY
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Created by: Mr Luke Winter
Date: January 2015
Approved by Local Advisory Board:
Review date: January 2016
Signature of Chair of Governors
Date shared with staff:
Signature of Headteacher
Policy Statement
It is in the interests of better life chances for our students that we emphasise the
importance of school attendance for individual educational outcomes and develop
systems and support that maximise the attendance of all students. All students are
expected to attend regularly and be punctual. This establishes good working habits.
Students who attend regularly achieve better results than those who do not.
We recognise the importance of developing a culture and good ethos in which students
want to learn and attend school. The school follows the Somerset Local Authority
strategy for School Attendance and DfE Statutory Guidelines, including the Education
Regulations 2006/7 and amendments made from September 2013.
The school works in close partnership with parents, carers, Governors and the
Education Attendance Officer (EAO).
Brymore Academy has developed a range of flexible responses to meet the emotional
and social needs of the students. There are in place a range of strategies in pastoral,
learning support and curriculum areas that focus on enabling the individual to secure
excellent attendance and achievement.
Person Responsible: Mr L F Winter
People Involved: Headteacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Assistant Head Teacher
Review Date: Summer 2015
1. Glossary of Terms/Acronyms
LA = Local Authority
EAO = Education Attendance Officer
AO = Attendance Officer
SLT = Senior Leadership Team
DfE = Department for Education
2. Authorising an Absence
The school will follow Statutory Guidelines, Legal Processes, interventions and request
warning penalty notices if there are too many unauthorised absences.
The decision to authorise an absence rests with the Headteacher. The reasons must be
clear and acceptable and usually fall into one of the following categories:
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Illness.
Medical or Dental appointment.
Family bereavement.
A Student who has been granted leave to perform through licensing.
A Student becoming carer for a sick or disabled member of the family on a
temporary basis.
Fixed term or permanent exclusion.
Days set aside for religious observance by the religious body to which the child’s
parent /carer belongs.
Where the school is outside the statutory walking distance for students of that
age and the LA has not made provision for transport to and from school or has
not offered a place at a school nearer to the student’s home.
Dual registration.
Term time leave due to “exceptional circumstances” agreed by the Headteacher.
Travellers when travelling.
Approved sporting activity.
Alternative provision off-site, organised by the school.
Home tuition
Courses at College
Interviews for Year 11 students either with prospective employers or with higher
education establishments.
Interviews for new school establishments, in cases of moving area/moving
schools.
Any absence note must be passed to Mrs H Hill or if that is not possible should be
handed in at Reception. The Attendance Officer will input the reason for absence. The
Attendance Officer will sign and date the absence notes with the code and pass to Mr L
Winter.
3. Term time leave
The School follows the Government regulations amended in September 2013. Absence
as a result of holidays taken during term time will not be authorised unless there are
exceptional circumstances. Parents/Carers need to apply for holiday absence before
going on holiday and need to explain the specific exceptional circumstances that the
Assistant Head teacher and Head teacher may consider. Parents will be notified that
taking unauthorised leave/holiday may result in a penalty warning or fine being issued.
4. Truancy
There is daily check of identified students carried out by the attendance officer. Internal
truancy checks will be carried out at intervals by the Progress Leaders, SLT, Attendance
Officer and/or the Police.
5. Follow-up of Poor Attenders
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Parents/Carers report absences on the dedicated phone line.
Attendance data is produced fortnightly and supports an early intervention
process.
The Education Attendance Officer meets termly with Mr L Winter. SLT will
discuss identified students and actions to be taken. Meetings also include those
at risk of Permanent Exclusion, those with serious medical conditions and
Children in Care. The school may request a Penalty Notice for students with 10
sessions of unauthorised absence in a 12 week period. A Penalty Notice could
be requested by the school for a fixed fine to be issued for holiday leave or a
Warning Penalty Letter which parents would then receive 15 days to improve
school attendance. Warning Penalty Notices can be issued for 10 + unauthorised
absences.
A tracking system has been set up to supervise this. The spreadsheet monitors
attendance every 6 weeks as well as recording a succinct record of actions and
meetings.
Attendance Officer checks identified students daily and contacts home via text or
phone call if absent. Progress Leaders, Attendance Officer and SLT will identify
students for monitoring purposes.
The Senior Leadership team support the securing of good attendance through a
series of tiered letters from the Chair of Governors advising parents of the
consequences of poor attendance.
Long term absentees (due to medical reasons or truancy) returning to school are
supported to ensure successful re-integration. This may include a restricted
timetable initially.
Copies of standard letters can be found in Appendix 1
6. Encouraging Excellent Attendance
A number of strategies are used:
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Annual and half termly rewards are awarded to students with 100% attendance,
including monetary rewards/vouchers.
Platinum Award for 100% attendance (Certificate and Reward) given during an
attendance assembly for Years 7-10 and at Leavers Assembly for Year 11.
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(Exceptional circumstances will be taken into account when deciding which boys
will receive an award.
Termly Attendance Certificates.
House points awarded for excellent attendance.
7. Taking Students off Roll and Missing Students
The school follows the procedures laid down by the LA.
8. Excluded students – the school may issue a penalty fine if a student is observed in
the community whilst excluded for a period of time.
Research shows that there is a direct link between good attendance and
achievement in school. Poor attendance can have a direct effect on a student’s
attainment and their future life chances.
For example, 90% attendance might sound quite acceptable but what that means in
reality is….
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You are absent one day every fortnight.
It adds up to four weeks absence out of every year.
In five years this would add up to half of a school year missed.
This results in having only a 75% chance of getting 5 A*-C at GCSE.
Also achieving all other qualifications will be affected in a similar way.
If you are absent one day a week this means you have an attendance of 80%. Your
chances of getting 5 A*-C at GCSE are down to 20%.
(Figures based on a 5 day week)
Habits of poor attendance and lateness in school can be repeated in working life
which is why employers do ask the school for such information as part of
references.
How students and parents/carers can help.
Let the school know the first day of your absence and when you return. Use the
attendance line.
Make dental and doctor’s appointments outside school hours. If you have to go
during school hours, unless you have had major treatment, you should return to school
so you can get your attendance mark.
Ensure no family holiday/leave is taken during term time unless under “exceptional
circumstances”.
Make sure you leave home early enough to get to school in time for registration.
Morning registration is 8.45 am and afternoon registration is 1:40 pm. Students who are
late will be given detentions. If you arrive after 9.15am or 2.00pm it is classed as an
unauthorised absence.
Rewarding Good Attendance
The majority of students do attend regularly and are punctual.
Certificates and commendations/achievement slips will be awarded termly for the
following levels of attendance:Gold – 100% Silver – 97% Bronze – 96%
A special prize and Platinum Certificate will be awarded for three terms of 100%
Attendance
Students with 100% attendance will be entered for half termly and/or the annual
attendance raffle.
All students should aim for at least 95%
The overall school target is 95%+.
Monitoring Absence
Attendance of all students is checked. For students who have odd days off on a regular
basis, or reach 10 unauthorised absences and where attendance falls below 95% the
Progress Leader or our Attendance Officer will contact home. Where the school
suspects that absences due to medical reasons are not genuine they will be challenged.
When a student’s attendance becomes a serious cause for concern our Education and
Attendance Officer becomes involved. If the Student’s Attendance doesn’t improve or
there are unauthorised absences action is taken. This may include penalty notices, fines
and prosecutions.
Appendix 1: Sample Attendance Letters
Example Letters that will be sent regarding attendance can be seen below:
Level 1 letter sent if attendance falls below 92%
Parent/Carer of
Name
Address
Date
Dear Name
School Attendance: Student’s Name
Attendance: xx%
Class: xx
I am writing to express my concerns that student’s name’s attendance has fallen
below 92% this academic year. Please find enclosed a print out of his attendance
and I would appreciate if it you would discuss this with your child.
May I remind you of the School’s Absence Policy – you are required to contact the
school on each day of your child’s absence by 9.30am. For continuing or frequent
absences, school may require proof that medical advice has been sought eg
prescription, appointment card or compliment slip.
I am sure we can work together to get your child’s attendance above 92% and
reduce the number of school sessions being missed. Should you wish to discuss
this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Assistant Head Teacher
Level 2 letter sent if attendance does not improve/Invitation to meet with
parents:
Parent/Carer of
Name
Address
Date
Dear Name
School Attendance: Student’s Name
Attendance: xx%
Class: xx
Further to my letter sent to you on date, when I wrote to express my concerns that
child’s name’s attendance had fallen below 92% this academic year, I am writing to
you again as we have continued concerns about his attendance. This currently
stands at xx% with xx% authorised and xx% unauthorised absences.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you into the school to discuss this matter.
Please could you contact the school to make an appointment.
May I remind you once again of the School’s Absence Policy – you are required to
contact the school on each day of your child’s absence by 9.30am. For continuing or
frequent absences, school now requires proof that medical advice has been sought
eg prescription, appointment card or compliment slip.
Our School takes attendance very seriously and where attendance is poor, we will
support the Local Authority in its use of statutory measures including Penalty Notices
and, where appropriate, prosecutions.
Should you wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Further support, advice and assistance may be available to you.
Yours sincerely
Assistant Head Teacher
Level 3 Letter sent following internal meeting regarding your sons attendance
(send if parent was absent)
Parent/Carer of
Name
Address
Date
Dear Name
I am sorry that you did not attend the meeting planned for date to discuss student
name’s current attendance at Brymore Academy.
In your absence an agreement has been drawn up and put in place. I enclose a
copy for your information. I do need to make you aware that failure to engage with
this agreement and ensuring your child’s attendance improves significantly, I will
have no choice but to apply to the Local Authority for a Penalty Notice. Please see
the School Attendance Policy on the school website for further information.
We are committed to promoting good attendance and tackling poor attendance using
the statutory powers of the Local Authority, including the issuing of Penalty Notices
and prosecutions.
You need to be aware that if your child has 10 sessions or more unauthorised
absence, we as a school may consider applying for a Penalty Notice.
Yours sincerely
Assistant Head Teacher
Level 3 letter sent to parents that attended the internal review meeting.
Parent/Guardian of
Name
Address
Date
Dear Name
Thank you for attending our meeting to discuss student name’s current attendance.
I enclose a copy of the completed agreement for your information. I do need to
make you aware that failure to engage with this agreement, ensuring your child’s
attendance improves significantly, will result in referral to the Local Authority for a
Penalty Notice or other legal action. Please see the School Attendance Policy on
the school website for further information.
We are committed to promoting good attendance and tackling poor attendance using
the statutory powers of the Local Authority, including the issuing of Penalty Notices
and prosecutions.
You need to be aware that if your child has 10 sessions or more unauthorised
absence, we as a school may consider the application of a Penalty Notice.
Yours sincerely
Assistant Head Teacher
Level 4 letter sent informing them that we have applied to the local authority
for legal proceedings to begin:
Parent Name
Parent Address
Date
Dear Name
Child’s Name
I last wrote to you on date concerning child’s name’s school attendance, which is
now xx%.
I need to make you aware that the Education Act 1996 states that it is the
responsibility of the parent/carer to ensure that their child attends the school at which
they are on roll. A failure to do this could result in legal action being taken by the
Local Authority.
As your child's attendance has not improved, I am writing to advise you that we have
now applied to the Local Authority for a Penalty Notice should be issued.
We are committed to promoting good attendance and tackling poor attendance using
the statutory powers of the Local Authority, including the issuing of Penalty Notices
and prosecutions.
If you would like help in addressing any issues affecting Brymore Academy
attendance please contact me on the above number.
Yours sincerely
Assistant Head Teacher